Dragons will be Dragons
by avearia
Summary: How did Clay, Kimiko, and Rai get their powers, and how did they get drafted to the temple as dragons? Follow each of them through their stories as they gain control over their elements and, ultimately, their lives… Complete!
1. To Create a Mountain

Dragons will be Dragons 

_Summary: How did Clay, Kimiko, and Rai get their powers, and how did they get drafted to the temple as dragons? Follow each of them through their stories as they gain control over their elements and, ultimately, their lives…_

_Please note that this is not really how I think the dragons were revealed. I just sorta let my imagination get a little… playful, that's all. On the plus side, doing that let me outline the story and finish a few chapters in a time span of three days… the downside? I didn't get to put my REAL thoughts down, and I squandered my four-day vacation away working on it. Oh well…_

_Oh, and sorry if I butcher Clay's background or character, I've only seen a few episodes with him in. (sorry!)_

_Estimated length of this story: 10 chapters. You have been warned. But not all of them are as long as this one. 3 chapters per character.  
A Cowboy's Dictionary:  
'som'n'-- something,  
'mayhap'--maybe,  
'm'boy'--my boy,  
't''--to,  
'tarnation'--your guess is as good as mine_

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_Note: I do not own Xaiolin Showdown... what a surprise... _

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Ch. 1 to create a mountain

When Clay woke that morning, he knew something was wrong. ALL wrong.

He woke with a start, nearly falling out of bed, he was so… surprised? Scared? He couldn't tell. All he could tell was that there was a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach, and that the room around him was _far_ too small.

He forced himself out of bed to stand, feeling wobbly on his feet. That, too, was wrong. He never felt unsure of his place on the earth, or unsure of his balance, not even after a rodeo or after he'd been on a rickety wagon for six straight hours. So why, then, did the earth heave before his eyes?

The blonde boy shook his head, messy hair going this way and that before settling down on his face. Now that he'd shaken his head to clear his thoughts, Clay's vision steadied. But he still felt confined, wobbly… the wrongness of the air just bit down on him. Hurriedly, he dressed, trying to forget about the feeling.

Heading into the kitchen, he met his family's smiling faces. "Hey, Clay, did'ja sleep in maybe?" His Mom asked, elbowing him playfully and looking at the clock. It was nearly noon.

"I guess I'm not feelin' so hot today, that's all," Clay mumbled in response. Didn't any of his family feel the wrongness, like he did?

His mother and father exchanged glances, his mom leaning over to check for a fever. "You seem well enough," his mother said, worried. "Though I suppose that don't count for much, do it?"

"I'll be fine, ma," Clay shook his head, knowing it was a lie. The wobbly knees and the confined feeling continued. "See, I just need a day off or somthin', just to get on my feet again," he explained. His mother found herself nodding as he talked. His sister, cleaning the table, turned to glare at him as if to say '_a day off? Then I should get one, too!_' but she said nothing.

Clay's father nodded. "Well, if you think you need some time off, feel free. Just try not to make this a habit, Ok, son?" he said, letting him go. Now his sister turned to glare at her father, annoyed. She opened her mouth to protest, but then closed it when she glanced at Clay. The blonde boy swayed for a second, then left without breakfast.

Once outside, he headed for the lake, where he hoped things would settle down.

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His sister found him there, skipping rocks into ol' uncle Milo's lake. He looked positively miserable. "Y'know, Sometimes I wish I was ma and pa's favorite. Sometimes I wonder if you do this just to tick me off!" She started, an edge in her voice.

"Jesse…" Clay began, not feeling in the mood.

The girl sat down beside her brother. "But then I saw you, swayin' on your feet, and it makes me think som'n's up." She concluded.

Clay picked up another rock, inspecting it. "Jess, I told ma an' pa, I'm _fine_. I just need to-" he stopped, his face draining of all color. In his mind, the earth heaved before him, shaking violently, crushing through the land. It wanted to move, rip, tear, smash…

"What in tarnation?!" Clay shouted, falling sideways off the rock. The next thing he knew, his sister Jesse was helping him back up, worry etched clearly on her face.

"You don't seem fine t' me." She grumbled. "Stop your lyin' and start explainin'!"

Clay fought his sister's grip, until it became clear that he was severely weakened. He jerked his arm from her grasp at last, sitting back onto the earth. Now everything seemed to be fine, but earlier…

"Don't tell me ya didn't see it!" Clay glared at his sister half-heartedly. "The earth was shakin' worse than a pig sent to the slaughterhouse!" he exclaimed. Jesse blinked at him, wondering if she ought to take him to a doctor or something.

"…You didn't see, did you?" he asked. She frowned, the answer clearly being 'no', and Clay hung his head.

"Ya know, bro, you've been actin' jumpy for a few days now." She said, sitting next to him on a rock. She picked up a stone and tossed it into the lake. Clay opened his own hands to find the rock he'd been holding earlier was nothing but loose dirt—he'd crushed it completely.

"Maybe ya ought to enjoy yer break." Jesse went on, not believing her own voice. She _hated_ Clay—hated how their parents always favored him, hated how he was always better than her… at everything. But something just wasn't right, and when it all came down to the basics, Clay was her brother, and that was that.

You don't go ill wishing family, especially not when they looked as distraught as Clay did right now.

She glanced over to him, watching as he poured the dirt from his hands. Clay himself was deep in thought. The sight of the crushed stone had silenced him—he wasn't _that_ strong—but his sister kept him silent. So Jesse went on. "Ya know, what you need is a good old fashioned rodeo. Som'n to steady you and all." That comment made Clay's head snap up. Steady him?... his sister had just given him an idea.

He stood, and Jesse shot a glance over to him, suspicious. "Relax, Jess. I just figured it'd do me some good to get away from all this." He glanced around.

"To where?" Jesse asked, keeping an eye on him.

Her brother hesitated. "To the mountain, I guess," he answered finally.

This made Jesse smirk. "Ya goin' to be practicin' your fightin' arts?" she asked, making him jump. "Ah, don't worry bro. I won' tell the folks what yer up to. Nice to know you aint such a goodie two shoes as I thought, though."

"How long have you—" he stopped, seeing the earth twist in front of his eyes again. He shook his head clear of the image, and turned to his sis.

"…Known? Oh, since two months or so ago, when I went to get that revolver fixed for pa in the city? I dropped down to ol' cousin Debbie's dojo for a bit, and she was talkin' 'bout how proud she was about your progress in the martial arts an' all." She smirked. "I didn't let the family know, if that's what yer askin'." She said, making Clay blush vividly. "Go on. If it'll make ya feel better."

Clay hesitated, then nodded. Carefully he picked his way across the land, heading towards the mountain—_his_ mountain.

Jesse watched him go, seeing him stumble slightly as he walked. His composure (or lack thereof) made her worry. She stood, wondering if her brother was really ok. Then a thought occurred to her; go get Cousin Debbie. It wouldn't be suspicious for her to show up, and Clay wouldn't be as guarded around her. And if she just explained things to Deb, then she'd be more than happy to keep an eye on Clay.

With that thought, she headed off towards the city.

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There were two things Great Grandpa Grittius had taught him before he'd died, the first was to always respect your elders. The second was Kung Fu.

Oh, sure, his folks weren't that keen on the idea, in fact, they were near ashamed of their relative. But Clay had always looked up to Grittus, and thus had learned the art of Kung Fu as his great grandfather saw fit. Even after he died, Clay still visited the dojo, though mainly it was because his great grandfather had friends there, and students.

He only practiced on his own. Being rock solid and sturdy was always important when fighting, not to get knocked over and beaten, so that's mainly what he practiced. The punches were just for fun. Not that he would ever use them, not ever, because he didn't fight with Kung Fu. It was just a way to remember his Grittus by.

With that thought, Clay stepped back to do another cleansing breath. He even considered doing meditation—something he was awful at. It probably wouldn't help, though. After all, it wasn't him that was wrong, it was the earth! The earth that wanted to bend, to jump, to break under his feet… _that_ was what was wrong. But then, if that was truly where the wrongness was from, then the others should have felt it, too. Instead, he saw his mother's smiling face, his sister's confused expression when he explained how the earth was upset. They didn't get it.

"Why?" he asked the air. Of course, it didn't answer. The earth, too, had no answer for him, just a shaky composure. "Why don't they feel the earth is _wrong_ today?"

"What's that, Clay?" a voice came from behind him. Clay snapped around to meet the newcomer, nearly loosing his balance again. There, on a nearby rock, sat Cousin Debbie. Actually, she wasn't really his cousin, she was Great Grandpa Grittus's daughter's best student, the owner of the temple. A friend. Slowly, Clay relaxed.

Deb was just getting started, though. "Mayhap your sister was right, maybe you aint up to face the day yet." She commented, standing and brushing herself off. "I figured I'd find ya here, but I wasn't expecting ya t' be in such lousy shape!" she exclaimed.

Clay sat. "I'm well enough." He told her. "It's the earth that's wrong!"

"You sound as strange as my friend, Master Fung does when he's off saying parables. And believe me, that's _not_ good."

"Master… who? Never mind," Clay said quickly when Debbie opened her mouth. When Deb got to talking, it would take an earthquake to make her stop.

Debbie sat next to the blonde. "Now, tell me what troubles you." She said.

Clay sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Well, nothin's solid no more. It's like the earth is goin' t' swallow up the ranch or som'n." he complained. "I can't even see straight, let alone catch my balance."

"How're you t' know you aint just sick, Clay m'boy?" she asked, picking up a pebble from the ground and twisting it in her tough, powerful hands.

"Because…" Clay paused, frowning. Something stopped him from speaking… what was it? It was… it was…

Deb watched him, eyes serious. She believed Clay—he never lied to her—but something wasn't right with him, either. "You think the ground's goin' to melt under your feet? That the earth's goin' to throw a temper fit and bring this mountain crashin' down around our ears?" she suggested.

Fear, he realized. He was almost too scared to speak. "That's precisely what's goin' t' happen, miss."

Deb frowned. She always knew Clay was special, like the boy just had a certain insight for what came next. And if that was true then… She stood and brushed herself off. "Well, if ya believe that, then why're you here? We'd best get off this mountain." She said.

"You believe me." Clay said, sounding half astonished.

"You never gave me no reason to doubt you before, right?" the old Kung Fu master retaliated. "B'sides, I get this feelin' that you know as much as _he_ does." She didn't say who 'he' was, but Clay had no time to ask. He stood, and an awful feeling overtook him.

"We aint gonna make it." he said. His face drained of color again, and he sent himself reeling backwards until his back hit the mountain face with a resounding 'thud'. Once again, the earth rose up to meet him, but this time everyone else saw it too.

An earthquake.

Even though she was ready for it, Debbie lost her balance. The earth shifted violently under her feet, and suddenly she had no support. The shock ripped through the earth, leaving it shaking and crumbling… stones jumped from their resting place and the edge of the platform where they stood gave way. She threw herself to the mountain's face, falling in next to Clay.

Then everything seemed to get still. Both humans looked up from the ground. "Is it over?" she asked Clay, who sat up.

He looked at her, his eyes slightly crossed, and he looked up. Deb almost knew the answer before he said it.

"No."

Almost immediately, the rocks above them moved, then shook, then they fell.

They were headed straight for them.

"NO!" Clay shouted, pushing all his weight into the mountain in an attempt to stand. The boy crushed the solid rock that he found in his hands, fighting the dizziness in his vision. He would stop the rocks, tell the earth to behave, because _he_ was their master…

The mountain bent to obey him. Under his hands, the stone morphed and bent, manipulated by him. With a great explosion of power, the rust-colored rock beneath his hands thrust itself away from the mountain, shielding them from the falling boulders. When the boulders came to rest at the bottom of the mountain, all fell still. Clay chanced a look to Debbie. She sat, wide eyed, on the ground, and suddenly Clay realized he'd done something inhuman.

He'd just told the earth to move. And it had _listened_.

The look over Debbie's face passed, however, and she stood, looking less frightened. The action gave Clay the courage to step away from the mountain.

He shouldn't have done that, though, because he felt sick again.

He turned to Debbie, feeling the earth give way under him, but he knew it was just in his mind. "Watch out for aftershocks," he said, then passed out.

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End notes: Well, how was it? R&R! But please keep in mind that I took some liberties while writing this—I know little about Clay, since I keep missing a bunch of episodes with him in. Who really taught him Kung Fu? I don't know. Is his family really against martial arts? I don't know! Is this how he got his powers? Most likely not, but hey, I'll say it again—I took some liberties. It would be appreciated, though, if someone told me if I got something wrong…

(Next Chapter is Kimiko-centric, how _she _gets her powers.)


	2. Blazing Sunrise

Dragons will be Dragons 

Thank you for the reviews! (I'm ecstatic, if you can't tell.) This chapter is Kimiko-centric. Again, I'm only human, and my screw up on some points. (Though, I do have one question. Does Kimiko have a mom? I don't think so, but… I've been an idiot before, so this time may be no different.) The chap is shorter than the first (a lot shorter!), mostly because… well, it was easy to make Kimiko freak out and use her powers. She's a hothead.

Oh, and to '…..', whoever you are, thanks for the tip on the Tai-chi. Will be fixed for future chapters, Thank you very muchly!

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_Note:Picking petals off a daisy: I own Xiaolin showdown... I don't own Xiaolin showdown. I own Xiaolin Showdown... I don't own Xiaolin Showdown. I own... (You get the picture.) __

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_Ch. 2 blazing sunrise 

She had SUCH a headache.

Working with Sudoku puzzles did that, sometimes. Oh, it wasn't as though sudoku was HARD for her or anything, but she'd chosen to do a 'challenge' level puzzle, and had been working on it for weeks. And in the last three days, she'd found one—ONE!—number.

Frustrated, Kimiko shot up from her seat.

"I am so SICK of this puzzle!" she shouted to the empty air. Of course it was empty, it was two in the morning. Something stirred inside her, something that made her angrier than she already was. To her surprise, she picked up the puzzle she'd been working on for weeks, and crumpled it up into a ball. Then, she threw it angrily on the table, letting it bounce across the surface and come to rest. The balled up paper began to smolder slightly, giving off a black smoke. The Japanese girl missed this, she was so annoyed. She turned on her heel and headed fort he door. "I am so OUTTA here." She growled, leaving the room on an angry rampage. Unknown to her, the paper burst into flames, lasting only a moment before it collapsed as a pile of ash…

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Unfortunately, the headache didn't go away.

She was awakened by the maid, who generally knew to stay away from Kimiko after she threw a temper fit. 'Sometimes, I give her FAR too much credit…' the girl grumbled to herself, snuggling into her sheets. "Go away, I'm still tired!" She snapped at the maid, delving deeper within her bedclothes. The headache pounded, her temper soared, and her sheets felt hot. If only the maid would leave…

"Miss Kimiko, it's time to get UP." The maid said, gently reaching out her hand.

"And _I_ said, I'm still tired." Kimiko shot back.

"But…"

"Leave me alone!" Kimiko lashed out violently, where she guessed the maid would be standing. She missed by a couple inches, thank god, because the next thing she knew, Kimiko had fire bolts shooting out of her hands. Instead of hitting the maid, the balls of fire scorched the door, leaving a gaping hole where it had been.

"My god…"

The maid's eyes were wide, and she wisely backed away from the girl. When she reached the doorway (or the ex-doorway, if you please,) she turned and fled. Meanwhile, Kimiko was sitting up, staring at her hands, feeling wide awake and DESPERATELY wishing this was a dream…

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"Papa!" Kimiko screeched. She'd gotten dressed quickly, then headed to her father's office. She found him lost in his work, sketching merrily on the papers that sat before him. He looked up, and a smile spread across his face.

"Kim! My little girl. Here, I've got something for you to try out…" he jumped up and led her over to a machine.

"But Papa, I—wait, what?" she asked, looking at the machine laid before her. Her father was the head of the biggest videogame industry in Japan, and he'd been working on something for weeks; a virtual reality machine. "You finished it? But when?"

"Oh, just the prototype, but I've got all the info put down on paper. So why don't you try it out? After all, I need a kid to test it, and you've been interested in it from day one…" he trailed off, because Kimiko had already jumped at the chance, trying to get the boots to the virtual reality machine on. Her troubles faded back in her mind.

"Just to warn you, it might be a bit tougher than other games I've come out with so far…" he cautioned.

"No worries. As long as it won't electrocute me or anything, I'm fine with it." she said, sliding the gloves on. Her father shrugged and helped her with the headset, then stood back.

"I've got an errand to run, I'll leave my assistant to watch over you. I'll be back soon, so don't go getting into trouble, young missy," he said playfully.

"Thanks, papa," she said as the game turned on. An image of her roasting the door came to mind, but now that very image felt like a dream, or maybe like a videogame. After all, there was no way it could've been real, right?

Right?

She had no time to think after that. The game powered up, tossing her into a barren wasteland. Her instincts took over, and she played the videogame. She was a natural, her father being who he was, so she usually got a ton of practice. Sadly, the mindless playing could continue only so long…

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Her father was out longer than he'd predicted. She managed to beat the boss on the first, second, and third levels (each were getting harder, becoming more frustrating,) and now on the fourth level boss, she kept dying. "I swear, if I die one more time…" she left the threat hanging in the air as the game powered up again, tossing her back into the boss's arena.

The 'boss' she faced was frustrating, because he simply wouldn't hold still. The creature liked jumping, she noted right off the bat, and whenever she came too close, he'd be at the other side of the arena. Then he—it, whatever—would attack after a few minutes, after she wore herself down. That was how it played now, every time she got close to swing at it, the creature jumped away. Her temper was slowly rising, like a pot of water coming to boil. The first time it attacked, she balled her fists and felt the anger growing, fuming…

She swung again, and again, missing the creature, and then… the screen jumped in front of her, twisting, fading… and it went dark.

"It broke!" she screamed in frustration, feeling around her head to try to get the helmet off. Why wasn't the assistant helping? Finally, the helmet slid off, and she saw exactly _why_ it had broken.

The metal gloves at her hands were twisted, melting off her arms. The cables were bare, and slid off with the metal. Across the room, she saw the assistant her papa had left to watch her in the corner, cowering with fear. Kimiko struggled to get the gloves off, which proved to be a very difficult task; the metal was warped around her. The more she worked with it, the more frustrated she got.

When the gloves softened, melting off her hands, the Japanese girl could only stare. Flames sprouted at her fingertips, heating the metal and destroying it. "Papa's going to be so _mad_…" she said aloud.

As if on cue, her father walked into the office. When he saw the mess the gloves had made, he sighed. "Aww, Kimi, those were brand new, and the prototype! I mean, sure, I've got backup info on them, but you didn't have to go and **destroy** them…" he stopped, realizing that no matter how angry his little girl had been, there was no way she could destroy metal handgloves like that. "Kimiko?"

Kimiko knelt to undo her boots, hiding her face from her father. When she got them off, her father had set down whatever he'd been carrying and came over to her. "Kimi, what's wrong?" he asked, clearly worried.

The whole story of the morning spilled out of her mouth before she could stop herself. "I just thought it was a **_dream_**, papa, just a dream!" she explained, sobbing. "Not for real. I didn't mean… please don't be angry!" she cried, hiding her face in his shirt.

Her father let out a breath he'd been holding. "So you're not hurt, that's good." He said, making her look up.

She wiped her eyes, startled to find a few tears there. Her father offered her a handkerchief, and then led her over to a couch. "Come on over here, and we'll talk." He said gently, dismissing the assistant. He, like the maid that morning, fled the room.

Kimiko followed her father to a seat. "This isn't one of those 'becoming a woman' things, is it?" she asked when her emotions were under control.

The comment made her papa laugh. "No, no, I've never even heard of this sort of thing happening—well, no, that would be a lie," he cringed slightly. He pulled her closer, and she set her head on his shoulder. "Kimiko, sweetie, I'm not mad. You didn't melt…" he paused, thinking how weird that sounded, but then he started again. "You didn't melt my prototype on purpose, after all. But I have to ask, how long have these strange outbursts been happening?"

Kimiko took a deep breath, knowing it was going to be a **very** long day…

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END NOTES

Aaanndd… there's my attempt at Kimiko. Is it just me, or does Kimiko seem really, really superficial in the show? I mean, everything used to characterize her has A) Technology, B)Fashion-related, or C) her temper? I'm going to work on my OWN personality for her… she just seems so… Flat to me. (Apologizes to all Kimiko fans out there) So, if what came in this chapter (or other chapters starring her) contradicts your idea of the hotblood Kimiko, then I'm really, really sorry. Feel free to REVIEW and complain all you'd like. :Coughs inconspicuously:

Mostly because reviews are much appreciated, flames and crits alike. (and multiple sentances of "I love this chapter/story" work too...).

Haha! Betcha can't guess who's next! (You probably think it's Rai, doncha?!) You'll never guess who's starring the next chapter:Laughs maniacally:


	3. The First Blow

Dragons will be Dragons 

Tada! The Rai-centric chapter. I'm suprised it got up at ALL... my computer and I have officially engaged in war. (sigh) anyways... about the story... After the first three chapters (which I call the 'beginning' chapters, because they all find their powers in 'em,) come three 'how to fix the problem' chapters, (you'll see why I call 'em that when I post 'em.) and then the 'revelation' chapters, and a recap chap. As of now, the story is 3/10ths done. TADA!

Anyways. As I said, Rai centric chapter. He's my favorite character, so I had to save the best for last, right? I made up his family, because while I've heard he has 7 brothers and sisters, I haven't heard who they are. So what do I do? Make 'em up, of course! Here they are:

**Ezekiel:** nickname 'Zeik': almost 3 years old  
**Mai:** (said like the word 'my'.) 4 years old.  
**Matt:** 8 years old  
**Josie:** 10 years old  
**Rai:** at the time is 13 years old  
**Rachel:** 14 years old  
**David:** 17 years old  
**Vince:** 19 years old

Oh, and a little tidbit of foreshadowing is in this chapter; Kudos to anyone who spots it! (It's annoyingly obvious, I'll probably get a LOT of reviews saying 'you got this and this wrong'… oh well.)

Please R&R!

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_Note: it has been brought to my attention that I don't own Xiaolin Showdown. What a novel concept! (Goes off to sulk) _

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Ch. 3 the first blow

"Wai-wai!" Raimundo looked down when he felt someone tugging on his pant legs. His brother, Zeik, was pulling at the green-and-black pants he wore. "Wai-wai," he called again. (For some reason the little tyke liked to call him 'wai-wai', and Rai'd given up trying to correct him.)

Raimundo Sanchez, also known as Rai, bent over to scoop up his brother in his free arm.

As he did so, he felt his bones creak from a long day at work, but he ignored it. What were a few sore muscles, anyway? "Yes?" he asked his brother.

The small boy, almost three years old, reached out a hand to the sack his brother was carrying. "Wai-wai, did ya bwing some food home?" He asked, his eyes growing big. "I'm _hungwy_."

Rai looked into his brother's eyes—green, like his own—and bit his lip. "Yes, Zeik, I did, but we have to share." He reminded the boy. "Where's Josie, Matt, and Mai?" he asked, naming the rest of his younger brothers and sisters.

Zeik squirmed, and Raimundo set him down. The boy dashed off into the distance, returning soon with several children—Zeik led them in a line, youngest to oldest. He led the group, obviously (he was the youngest, at two and a half,), and was followed by Mai, Matt, Josie, and Rachel.

"Rachel, you're home—" Rai started but got bopped on the head.

"I told you to get home early today. No more working overtime at your job at the restaurant, you hear? Gezus, Rai, what if you died or something? You know Vince would freak!" she giggled. "So what've you got?" she asked, taking the bag from him. She peered into it, a frown forming on her face.

"Sorry," Rai mumbled, for both getting home late and how little food was in the bag. "The cooks—there weren't many leftovers today, I checked. It was a busy day," he said, searching for a few plates.

"You'd think a restaurant would be the **_last _**place that would run out of food…" Rachel mumbled, setting the food onto the table. Rai had finally found some plates, bringing them out and setting them down. As he went to get cups, his sister did a quick count of the plates he'd retrieved—there were only five.

"You're one short." She called to her younger brother. He paused, but only for a second, then he proceeded getting out more cups. He set them down on the table, and Rachel again, counted only five. "You're one **_short._**" She said louder, in case he hadn't heard.

Raimundo leaned over and kissed his sister on the cheek, pulling on a coat. "I'm guessing Vince is still at the construction site?" he asked, ignoring his sister's remark. "I think I'll go check on him." He said, turning to leave.

He had almost made it out the door when Rachel caught him by the arm. "You can't just leave, not without _food,_ bro." she said quietly, but sternly. She tried to pull him back into the kitchen, but Rai was far stronger than his skin-and-bones appearance led people to believe.

"I'm going to check on Vince." Rai said flatly, pulling away from his sister's grip with ease. Rachel hesitated, then grabbed her younger brother by the shoulders, forcing him to face her.

"David said you did this yesterday, too. Do you plan to go forever without food? If you collapse at work, it won't do much good to any of us." She pointed out. The other four younger children behind her gave the two questioning looks. They were young, but not stupid—they had been sensing tension between Rai and his three older siblings (Rachel, David, and Vince in order of age,) for weeks. This was the first time they'd seen anyone do anything about it; none of them thought to lay a hand on Raimundo, as he was the only constant source of food.

"Rachel…" Rai began.

"Don't you 'Rachel' me, Rai, I'm a year older than you!" she said, her green eyes flashing with anger. "And by how childish you act sometimes, you'd think it was more than a year's difference between you and me. You make a lot of the money, sure, and bring home food from the restaurant, but you aren't even the oldest in the family! This is behavior I'd expect from Vince, the hothead, but not you!" she scolded, her grip becoming tighter on his shoulders.

Rai was silent. Rachel almost wondered if she'd offended him or something, since he wasn't answering her, until he spoke up. "We wouldn't have this problem if Vince—the hothead, as you call him—would just tell Dad and Mom to keep their paws off of the money we make." He said smoothly, making Rachel flinch with guilt.

Their parents weren't very responsible… Rachel sometimes wondered if they even realized they had eight kids at home. Vince, David, Rachel, and Rai all worked different jobs to earn money, and their parents spent it. On alcohol, no less. Usually, they only took half of the money to indulge on the drink at bars and casinos, but recently a fight had broken out at the bar they'd been 'enjoying' themselves at, hospitalizing (and nearly killing) them both. After that, both parents came home now and then, but that was to retrieve money to pay the hospital bill. Rai had been the only child to say anything against it… it had gotten him a black eye and a bleeding lip. After that, the kids just accepted it.

Thus, all the money went to the hospital bill, and the only way to get food was from Rai's job at the restaurant, when he brought home leftovers.

As Rachel thought this, her grip on her younger brother slackened. Rai took the chance to carefully peel his sister's fingers off his arm, setting it down carefully. "I'll find a way around it. Eating, I mean." He assured her. She stared at him blankly, and he shrugged. "If I work overtime, I get extra money and not tell dad, and then I'll buy food." He explained. "As for dying on the street… well, if you really think I'd leave you alone in this world, you've got another thing coming."

"People are disappearing all over town, Rai. You shouldn't go out." Rachel said, trying to convince him to stay and maybe, just maybe, eat.

"Trust me, nothing's going to happen." He told her.

Rachel said nothing, so he turned towards the door. "I'm going to see Vince." He repeated, and left.

-

* * *

- 

Rai walked amongst the open-air market, his spiky brown hair blown in the wind. The stalls were bustling with activity, having only been open for a few hours. Rai moved among them without having to think, as this was a daily routine for him—he worked through the night at his restaurant job, brought the food home, and then walked around until he felt tired enough to sleep. Then he repeated it all over again.

Of course, he never slept at home. It was too confined for him. The walls were too close together and they gave him claustrophobia, and he liked it better outside. Usually he'd sleep at the top of the hill, close to the sky, but lately he'd felt restless even there. So it was hard to sleep nowdays. The air was always running, it seemed, always whispering in his ear. Maybe it was those strange voices that kept him awake… or maybe he couldn't sleep because he stayed up all night and all day thinking about food. Thinking about how _hungry_he felt nowdays.

As the boy passed the vendor stall, he felt into his pocket. His fingers brushed the few coins he'd made at work that day, and he knew that even if it were enough to feed his brothers and sisters, it would be taken away to pay for his father's medical bill. Not that it mattered that his own brothers and sisters would starve because of it, just that the bill got paid, right?

Wistfully, Rai eyed the open air food vendor's wares with hunger. He glanced at the stall as well, finding, with relief, that two people occupied the stall, and both looked in shape. He wandered next to the stall, and when the vendors were looking away, he quickly snatched two oranges—any more and he wouldn't be able to run easily—and he darted away with his prize.

Of course, the vendor's assistant was after him before he had a chance to take three steps…

-

* * *

- 

As he rounded the corner, the vendor's shouting of 'Thief! Thief!' had caught several people's attentions, including a few authorities scattered around the area. One, in particular, was close… far too close for comfort, maybe three or four feet from him. Scared, he pushed in the cop's general direction, scolding himself slightly, because there was no way he would be able to even **touch** him from this distance. He dodged around a cart and ran, not noticing that the cop he'd pushed at earlier flew backwards twenty feet, into a food stall.

After seeing that, only one person even considered going after the boy.

Other cops (who had not seen what Raimundo had done,) were after him in no time. Raimundo Sanchez's feet churned beneath him, kicking up dirt as he swore at himself. His morals only allowed him to steal from people who could give chase, to give them a fair chance, and look where **that** had gotten him! A vendor and three police officers on his heels.

Around him, the wind picked up, making the boy feel slightly better. The wind wasn't violent, but it was fast—sometimes, it helped him feel fast, too. He darted through the streets, even shaking off a cop. The other three people chased him to the edge of town.

Rai chanced a glance back at them, in time to see one of the police officers give up after tripping on a tree root. (The fact that Rai didn't find this funny showed just how tired he was.) The last Police officer stopped to help his comrade, but the food vendor kept chase. He raced the young 13 year old, chasing him all the way to the edge of a cliff.

Rai, seeing the danger, skidded. He almost fell off the cliff and into the deep river, but not quite. The kid panted, catching his breath, and turned. The Vendor, seeing he was stuck, had slowed to a walk, his black eyes fixed on the boy. Rai nearly blinked at the vendor. What had possessed him into stealing, anyaways? Knowing he was defeated, Rai shook his head and opened his mouth, ready to give up.

The world must have hated him that day. First, the world had turned his morals against him—by stealing the fruit, he'd been caught at the edge of a cliff by its owner—and now the world wouldn't let him give himself up peacefully, because before a word escaped from the boy's mouth, that very cliff he'd been chased to gave way beneath him.

He was falling.

Everything around him kicked into slow motion. He turned to look at the water below, finding that there were sharp rocks at the base of the cliff. '**Goody,**' he thought to himself. The wind around him seemed to pick up, bringing the scent of grass and fruit to his nose. He sighed, odd thoughts passing over his eyes. The fear of falling had yet to kick in… why? Weren't you supposed to feel something right before you died, some wistful feeling, or terror, ANYTHING? He only felt excited as the air passed over his face. Ha, excited about falling to his death! Now that was something for the books. '_Well, at least I'll die in the air—I knew I'd die falling. Might as well sit back and enjoy my life flashing before my eyes or whatever. I just hope Vince can provide for the family—_' he stopped in horror. Vince, his eldest brother…?

Suddenly his brothers and sisters came to mind, making him struggle in mid-air. It was one thing to die and leave the world, and an entirely different thing to die and leave his family to fend for themselves. Frantically, he started flapping his arms, trying to push himself up as though he was a bird. '_Stupid—that only works in cartoons,_' he thought bitterly to himself.

Until, that is, he looked down and realized he wasn't falling any more.

The sight of the unmoving scenery made him stop, the realization that he was **hovering** above his death froze him and his mind. He struggled to think clearly as the wind whipped around him.

That's about when he panicked.

He flapped his arms. He screamed. He even looked up to where he'd fallen, seeing a few people up there. "Have your stupid oranges back, just get me down! Up! Whatever!" he shouted to the vendor who was watching him with wide eyes. Instead of complying, the vendor turned and ran, screaming about demons and devils.

As a last resort, Raimundo started clawing at the air, making swimming motions towards the edge of the cliff.** '**_There!_' he told the winds that surrounded him, nearly blinded with fear. '_I want to go THERE!_'

The winds complied. They forced him, ever so slowly, towards the cliff and near the top. **'**_The winds,_**'** he realized. **'**_They're holding me up!'_before he had a chance to ponder that any more, his instinct took over and he lunged for the edge of the cliff. Scrambling, his winds dispersed, leaving him searching for a way to get on top of the cliff instead of on the side of it. But his hands couldn't get a purchase anywhere, and he slid. He was afraid, after all of that, he was going to fall down and pierce his skull on the rocks below.

A pair of hands gripped his, pulling upwards. For a moment, he thought a cop was pulling him up, but instead the hands pulled him face to face with their owner—a strong looking young man with handsome features and green-grey eyes.

"Interesting…" he said, his voice light, as though he hadn't just saved someone from dying. "You're quite a piece of work, you know that?" he asked.

Thanks, Rai wanted to tell him, Thanks for saving me… but exhaustion overtook him, and his eyes fluttered shut. The wind cradled him, comforting him, and he fell back into the darkness…

* * *

---  
Next chap will be up soon, hopefully. Remember, the more reviews I get, the more inclined I am to post early! (Please review!) 


	4. Stopping the Rockslide

Dragons will be Dragons 

I finally got around to watching 'as big as Texas' (The ep. Where Clay's dad comes to the temple) and now I feel like an idiot. Yes, Clay calls his father 'daddy' not 'Pa' (what I've been having Clay call his dad.). I won't change it, for consistency's sake, but I still feel stupid knowing that. It's just one of those things… :Sigh: Meanwhile, I continue to war with my computer, so this chapter took a bit longer to get up.

We're back to Clay again, by the way. Clay gets a better understanding of his power, (hopefully,) while having some trouble with it. Next chap's Kimiko, then Raimundo again, and the cycle repeats itself when we reach the 7th chap. Just thought I'd let you know.

Cowboy Lingo:  
Yaw -jaw/mouth  
O'course - of course  
'bout- about

* * *

_Note: normally, this section of the chapter would be occupied by a disclaimer on the Xiaolin Showdown series, but curiositiy has gotten the best of me, so I have decided to not put anything here and see if I actually get slapped with a lawsuit..._

* * *

Ch. 4 Stopping the Rockslide

The first thing Clay thought when he opened his eyes was how odd the ceiling looked in his room.

His second thought was voiced, as he sat up with a start. "This aint my room!"

"Ah, you're awake," a familiar voice met his ears, calming him a bit. He turned to see Cousin Debbie standing over him, carrying a pot of tea and some cups to go along with it. She made her way to the nearby table and set the objects down. "And here I thought you'd sleep forever. You really had me worried, there, Clay."

The boy felt terrible. "What… happened?" he asked, rubbing his eyes. He also noted that he had quite the headache.

"You mean you don't remember that display?" she asked.

"Naw, it just feels like I fell off a cliff or somethin'…" he stopped, his eyes going wide. "That… that earthquake! Oh god, is everyone ok? Jesse wasn't even at the ranch, and ma and pa—" Debbie put a hand over his mouth and motioned behind her, to an open door. Through it, Clay could see his family all snug, sitting around the room. Well, mostly. Jesse was kicking the wall, hands in her pockets. But they were fine.

"It's you we should be a'worryin' about." Debbie sighed, removing her hand. "We were about to call a doctor."

Jesse glanced back into the room, and stopped kicking the wall. "Hey, he's up!" she exclaimed, racing towards him. Their parents also levered themselves out of their seats, coming at a slower pace.

When Jesse reached him, she was torn whether to hug him or punch the living daylights out of him. "I toldya to be careful, ya big lug!" she said, falling next to him on the mattress. (The mattress was on the floor, as they seemed to be in Debbie's dojo, which was also her home.) "But noo, you had to go and get yourself caught in an earthquake, and not wake up for a day—"

"A day?" Clay interrupted.

"A DAY!" Jesse shouted, throwing her hands up in the air. "Cousin Deb says she had t' carry you all the way from your mountain to here, an' then she comes and tells us you passed out because…" She stopped, her breath catching in her throat.

Slowly, Clay turned his head to face Debbie. "Did I really do what I think I did?" he asked, almost scared. Instead of answering him, the Martial Arts master just handed him a cup of tea.

"Drink, it'll help. Then I'll explain." She compromised.

Clay hesitated visibly, casting a glance to his family, but he did as he was told. Once the tea was gone, Debbie whisked the cup away. "Now, how are you feeling?" she asked.

The blonde took a deep breath, for patience. "I feel fine." He said. When Jesse glanced at him with suspicion in her eyes, he shrugged, rubbing his head. "Mostly fine, anyways."

"Does the earth seem solid now?"

"Yeah, o'course it do."

"Dizziness?"

"Can't say I have any, no."

"Headache?"

Clay paused at this, considering lying, since it was such a little matter, but decided against it. "Sorta, I guess."

"Sorta? BS." Debbie scoffed, leaning back. "Feels like a mule kicked ya between the eyes, don't it?" she asked. A silence stretched between the two, broken only when Clay shrugged.

"You know more than you're lettin' on." He accused.

"Most likely, but might as well get my foot in the doorway before I kick you out of your comfort house." Debbie shrugged as well, sitting back in her chair. She helped herself to some tea, not looking at the blonde cowboy as she spoke. "What you did, I've only heard tales of. From somewhere far away from here. Honestly, no one's seen power like that in near fifteen-hundred years." She started. Her voice was calm, but her hands were not. She nearly spilled the tea over the table.

Clef took another breath, this time to steady himself. What he really _wanted _to do was go outside and lay in the grass, breathing in the smell of the earth and grass until the sun set, but that wouldn't do. Instead, he had to sit here and face whatever was going on with him. "But you've heard of whatever it was I did back there."

Cousin Deb nodded, sipping her tea. "'twas at a temple, where I learned a big chunk of martial arts. They had a story there about the elementals, the dragon warriors. I did some reading, about what these dragons had to learn and what they did, since I'd probably never see it for m'self. Guess I was wrong."

Clay frowned. "Never see it for yourself? Why?"

Deb sighed. "The Dragons—there are only four of them picked out of the entire world. The entire **world**, boy. And if that aint slim chances enough, it might not have happened during my lifetime." She saw confusion on Clay's face, and she explained. "The dragons—people like you, they… they're only chosen when they're needed, when they must rise up and fight against the evil forces, threatening to destroy the world."

"What?!" Clay asked, shocked.

"Don't worry, Clay," Deb assured him. "There's no evidence that you're actually a dragon. I'm just sayin' that your powers are similar to it."

Clay nodded. "So… so what's this mean for me?"

Debbie took a deep breath, looking to Clay and his family. "This elemental power of yours… You seem to have earth. Earth normally isn't all that… jumpy, if you will, not 'tall. But controllin' it may be a problem. I can train you in the only way I know how, to help ya t' understand yer power. If yall'll give me permission, that is."

Clay's father frowned. "Train him how?"

Biting her lip, Debbie knew that Mr. Baily wouldn't like what came next. She had to say it anyways. "Martial arts."

Now it was Mr. Baily's turn to blow up. "Yer Jokin'! Ye gatta be jokin'! First ye say that my little Clay predicted an earthquake-" Clay felt his sister go rigid beside him, and he suddenly knew that she hadn't been told what happened. "Then that he moved that mountain-" more stiffening on Jesse's part, and Clay promised himself he'd do Jesse's chores for a week to apologize to her. "An' now yer tellin' me the only way to control this here power you say he's got—we haven't even seen 'em yet!—is fer you to train him in martial arts! Well I never!"

Debbie seemed lost for words, and at that moment, Clay felt he needed to give his father a good scolding. "I already **know** some martial arts, pa." he said quietly. His father turned to give him a wide-eyed stare. "Great Grampa Grittus taught me. An' yer a fool," he went on, keeping his voice low, "that ya didn't notice b'fore. And another thing, I'd hoped you realized this on your own, but you haven't. It aint Cousin Debbie yer doubtin' when you say I don't have powers, it's **me**. My powers, my problem, and yer denyin' the antidote? Who ARE you? Because you've never treated me this way b'fore."

If there was a list of 'most shocked silences in the world', this one would've ranked in the top ten. Clay Baily NEVER talked back to his elders, especially not his own family.

When Mr. Baily finally found his voice, he managed a response. "I-I-I'll think a..ab-b-bout it." he managed, and stood. He left through the doorway, the wood clanging shut behind him.

When that happened, Clay turned to his sister. "Did they not tell you what happened?" He asked.

Jesse blinked at him. "No," she said, amazed. "How'd you guess?"

"You always go all stiff whenever someone offends you." He explained apologetically. "Listen, I'm sorry, I should make it up to you…"

Jesse held up a hand to stop him. "No, don't, b'cause if you go offerin' me anythin', I won't be able to turn you down, and you don't need t' apologize to me. Pa does, not you."

Clay looked like he was going to protest, but instead he sighed and ran his fingers through his messy blonde hair. His headache was ebbing away, but he was still tired. The mattress that he still sat on was getting softer, and he'd probably fall asleep soon.

"You should sleep." Debbie ordered, as if reading his mind. She poured herself some more tea, offering some to Jesse. Clay flopped on his back and stared at the ceiling. He WAS nearly ready to sleep, and his eyes were getting heavy, but he had to ask a nagging question before he did so. He cleared his throat.

"So what's gonna happen now, Debbie?" Clay asked, unsure.

She sighed, rubbing her temples. "If your father gives me permission to train you, I'll start off the next day, workin' with yer powers." She explained. "Though there's a chance that the trainin' won't work—I'm not an expert, after all, and magic can be tricky. And if that happens… well… I know who t' call."

-

* * *

-

The next few days after that were the most annoying days Clay had ever had on earth.

_'I swear, if I don't ever see quicksand ever again, it'll be too soon' _Clay thought with annoyance as Jesse pulled at his arm, trying to get him out of the loose sand he was stuck in. All day he'd been sinking into the earth every time he set his foot down. He didn't know what was worse, today's quicksand fiasco—very annoying, and dangerous to boot—or yesterday's mishap with the rocks on the ground rising to meet him, forcing him to trip over his own feet at every turn. (doing that, he'd broken the fence and let out the herd of cattle by accident, and then after rounding them back up, he had done it again).

On the porch, his Father sat, watching Jesse and Clay out of the corner of his eye while talking with Cousin Deb. It was more of a staredown than a talk, really, but it didn't matter. Debbie finished the 'talk' right around when Jesse had extracted Clay from the ground, and the older woman turned on her heel and left the premises.

Jesse and Clay walked over to the porch, Jesse keeping an eye on her brother so no more quicksand would engulf his feet. Clay walked slowly, brushing excess sand off his pants as the quicksand hole behind him hardened once again into rock. When they reached the porch, Jesse nudged Clay and jerked her head in the direction of their father, then left for inside.

Clay sat beside his father. He felt the older man tense up and flinch beside him, but he only removed his boot and poured sand from it. It was Mr. Baily who talked first.

"That doesn't look too comfortable, do it?" he asked, more to himself than to Clay.

"Not really. You wanna try?" Clay asked, looking at the ground under his feet. He'd only been joking, but even the mere thought made the ground twist beneath his boots. He quickly jerked his feet upwards to avoid being sucked down.

Mr. Baily looked at the dirt, sighing. "Deborah Rustad-" he said, naming Cousin Deb's full name, "-Just had a talk with me."

Clay nodded. "I know. I saw." He admitted, pulling his now-empty-of-sand boot onto his foot.

His father sighed with annoyance. "I still don't like the idea of Martial arts. Not t'all. But then again, looks like you need it." he said begrudgingly.

The blonde boy pulled off his other boot and poured the sand from it, frowning. "What's so bad 'bout Tai-chi, anyways, pa?" he asked, curious.

"Tai…what?" His father asked, confused.

"Tai-chi. It's what Grandpa Grittus taught me. Its the type of Martial Arts he knew." Clay answered.

Mr. Baily took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Time passed as he considered the question, but Clay didn't leave. He had patience enough to wait for an honest answer. After waiting, he was rewarded by his father's sigh. "I worked for this ranch like any other Baily, Clay. Grandpa Grittus almost gave up the family farm to be a fighter. I wanted to be a rancher, a cowboy, just like my grandpa. But pops—your grandpa—almost ruined that. But I guess he didn't give up the farm to follow his dream…" he sighed. "I been thinkin' that maybe he didn't become a fighter because he knew I wanted t' be a cowboy."

He fingered the lone star that hung around his neck. It was a family heirloom, one he'd gotten from his father, who'd gotten it from HIS father, who'd… ect. It had been passed down through the generations of the Baily family. Clay knew that it meant a lot to him.

"But why don't you want me to work with Cousin Debbie?" Clay asked, watching his father continue to fiddle with the lone star.

"I don't want you learnin' martial arts because it's dangerous, boy. I always figured fightin' was for people who couldn't do an honest day's work. They'd just go 'round stealin' what they couldn't make themselves. Pushin' everyone around. And I raised you as a hard workin' Baily, not as a street rat."

Clay sighed, shaking his head. "Martial arts is different than street fightin', pa. It teaches discipline and control before you ever learn to punch or kick. Besides," he said, picking up a rock and twirling it in his powerful hands. "What I'll be learnin' isn't how to fight, it'll be how to control my… ah, power. So I don't go 'round hurtin' myself or anyone else."

His father nodded, understanding. He kept fiddling with the lone star, though, making Clay think there was something else wrong.

"What?" he asked his father.

"What if you get hurt?" he asked quietly.

Clay was taken aback. "What… what do you mean?"

"Well, I don't know, son, what if you're this dragon person she was talkin' about? Then you'll have to be fightin' others. And you could very well get hurt and all."

"But dad, that's just it! If I'm a dragon, which Cousin Debbie doubts I am… then I fight to get rid of evil, not just b'cause I want to. Not just b'cause it's fun. And if she goes a'teachin' me martial arts, she'll be thorough enough… I **can** take care of myself, pa." Clay reasoned.

His father opened his mouth, but then closed it again. He stared at his son, as though trying to read his mind. Finally he sighed and looked him square in the eye. "This trainin' thing is NOT to get in the way of your chores, ya hear? Elsewise I'll not let you go to a single lesson."

Clay had to think for an entire minute on that one. "Wait… you mean you're lettin' me train with Cousin Deb?" he inquired.

"Naw, I was just flappin' my yaw for the fun of it. OF COURSE that's what I was sayin', son!" he said, shaking his head. "If you really want to take those lessons, I can't stop you, now, can I? b'sides, it'll do ya good."

Clay watched his father for a moment, and then turned his face towards the horizon. It felt good to finally see eye-to-eye on the subject, to come to an agreement with his father. He sat back, enjoying the moment, taking in a breath of fresh air. The sun began to set, throwing rays of light over the earth and painting marvelous pinks and reds in the sky. Then he looked over to his dad.

"Uh, Pa?"

"Yes, Clay?" he asked.

Clay looked over the ranch again, then back at his father. He smiled. "Thanks."

-

* * *

-

When they showed up at Cousin Debbie's dojo the next morning, the old woman nearly flipped. "What're yall doin' here?!" she asked, surprised.

"Um…" Clay looked at his father, who stood next to him. The older man shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged, not looking at either of them. Clay shifted uneasily on his feet, half because his father wouldn't speak, half because he was standing on the earth, with nothing to separate him from the dirt. There was a good chance that, like all yesterday, the soil beneath his feet would shift and do some damage. Would it be quicksand this time, or something worse? He could almost feel the earth vibrating beneath him…

Debbie stared Mr. Baily down, unaware of Clay's nervousness. "I said, what're yall doin' here?" she pressed.

"Ah, um…" Clay's father cleared his throat, looking up. "Well, y'see, we're… um…"

The earth chose that moment to open up beneath Clay's feet. It appeared that unlike yesterday,( where quicksand tried to drag him down into the earth and swallow him up), today his powers simply opened the earth up and let gravity do the swallowing up for it. Luckily his father was on the ball, and caught Clay by the elbow before the kid fell 30 feet down into the newly-formed crater.

"Um, we're here to fix **that**." Clay's father pointed to the hole, still holding his son off the ground.

Debbie stared at the hole. "And here I thought earth would be the _least_jumpy of all the elements…" she said, awed. She knelt to examine the hole closer, frowning. When she was done with the inspection, she stood. "So ye finally got some sense into yer ten gallon hat?" she asked.

"Clay convinced me, I guess." He said, blushing slightly and looking away.

Deb sighed and shook her head. "Whatever works, right? Come on, let's get the kid inside my Dojo, where he can't create any more craters." She motioned for Mr. Baily to follow, leading them inside.

Once there was wood beneath their feet, Clay's father set his son down. Clay brushed himself off carefully, then looked at his dad. "Thanks." He said, and looked out the door. He could still see the giant hole he'd accidentally created. "Uh, sorry 'bout the damage, Cousin Deb… I…" he paused, because there really wasn't a way for him to fix it, at least, not until he got his powers under control.

Debbie seemed to be reading his mind. She waved him aside. "Don' worry about it, Clay, I'll fill it up later. No point in havin' ya try ter make it up t' me. B'sides, it wasn't your fault. Now…" she turned to Mr. Baily. "Clay'll have t' put up with three hours a day in here, minimum, an' I won't charge, cause there'd be no point." She said, and when Clay's dad didn't object, she went on. "He meditates ever night, no exceptions, and yer not to disturb us while we're trainin' or he's meditatin'. Got it?"

"Got it." Mr. Baily said, nearly making Clay laugh. He looked like he was being scolded, except his dad was a good foot and a half taller than Cousin Debbie and much more muscular.

Cousin Debbie smiled, pleased that the taller man offered no resistance. She turned to the blonde kid. "Ya ready, Clay?" She asked, walking out to the center of the room and sitting there. Clay followed, but before he sat, he gave a glance back to his father.

Mr. Baily watched his son, lingering for a moment longer in that house. He frowned for a second in thought, but when his son looked back at him, he appeared to be asking 'you sure you're all right with this?' with his eyes. The older Cowboy paused for a moment, not knowing what to do.

And then he smiled at his son in reply.

Clay let a small grin slide onto his face, then he tipped his hat to his father and sat down. Clay heard his dad walk out the door, start up the pickup truck they'd come in, and leave. He then turned to Cousin Debbie.

"Ya ready?" Debbie asked in a soft tone.

Clay took a deep breath, looking straight into her eyes. Could this old woman in her fifties really teach him to control his power over earth, that same power that formed the giant crater that now sat outside her dojo? Could she really expand his fighting knowledge as she promised? Could she really make Clay—and his power—work as one again?

Could he trust her to help him?

Without looking away, Clay nodded to his new teacher. She smiled kindly at him, sitting straighter.

"Allright, kid," she started. "Lesson one."

* * *

End notes

:sweatdrops: Um, yeah, it's a tad bit longer than my other ones, sorry about that. I felt I needed some time to set things up correctly... Kimiko's chapter will be longer than her first, too... mostly because it's easy to set up the characters, it's just hard to put them in a situation and force them to play along. :Sweatdrops again: But that doesn't mean I don't want reviews, I still do! Please review, it'd be much appreciated!


	5. Controlling the Fire

Dragons will be Dragons 

Ch. 5 controlling the fire

Sorry this chap took so long to get up. I've been busy lately. (and on top of that, Kimiko's relatively hard to write…) But excuses are excuses, nothing more. So Instead of 'explaining' why I didn't get this up sooner, I'll just give you the chap. Hopefully I'll be quicker on the draw for the next chapter… I don't really like how this chapter ended, and as a whole it's sort of mediocre, but I do like certain parts. (and hate others. I feel like I totally forced the ending…) XP

Oh, and as for Loki, (Kimiko's dad's bodyguard,) He's an origional character. If he confuses you, just ignore him, he's there for my entertainment only. His name is derrived from the norse trickster god. Just a little fact. Ok, read if you wish, and don't forget to review!

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_Note: Christy Hui owns XS. Not me. No matter how many times I say it, it's still true. And even if I didn't say it, it'd still be true. Why am I saying it in the first place?!

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_

By the end of the week, Kimiko had successfully burned up the kitchen, killed off three pairs of gloves, destroyed her bed, and ruined a dozen assorted handheld objects. Her father read the damage reports with worry. Sure, he was rich, and could replace any amount of objects, it meant nothing to him. **They** were replaceable. What worried him was that the more this went on, the more likely someone was going to get caught in the crossfire. And unlike beds, gloves, and other objects, human lives were not replaceable.

After staring at the report for what seemed to be hours, Mr. Tomohiko sighed with frustration and crumpled it up. He turned to his bodyguard, who also happened to be one of his best friends on earth. "What in the world am I going to do with her, Loki?" he asked somberly.

The bodyguard, Loki, shrugged and went back to his book. After a moment of silence, he looked up, his dark eyes confused. He found his friend and his boss staring at him intently.

"Don't tell me you actually wanted an **answer!**" he exclaimed, taken aback. "I'm good with videogames, the fighting arts, Mark Twain, and baking cupcakes, not mystical fire-bending powers or whatever she's scaring the staff away with!"

"But you must have **some **idea, right, Loki? You **always **have an idea."

The bodyguard, Loki, sighed and sat back in his chair. "Mr. Tomohiko," he said, folding up his book. "Your daughter needs to learn _control._ It isn't so much with controlling that power—if that's what we're calling it—it's not letting it out in the first place."

"And how do you suggest we get her to do that?" the CEO asked eagerly, drawing closer.

Loki nearly threw his book at him. "Ok, I'll say it one more time—I d-o-n-t K-N-O-W! I don't know!" he sighed in frustration, messing up his black hair by running his fingers through it every which way. "Get her something to focus on! Like a hobby, or anger management classes, or… or… orrrrr……" he paused, a thought occurring to him. "Karate? Or maybe TaeKwando?" he suggested, making Mr. Tomohiko blink.

"Uh… run that by me again?"

Loki sighed. "Teach her Karate, or some other fighting art. It'll build discipline and give her a way to defend herself. After all, it worked for me, didn't it?" he said, thinking aloud. "Plus, it'll keep her from turning into a couch potato, with all the videogames you spoil her with…"

The last comment made Mr. Tomohiko blush furiously. "Um, anyway, do you really think it would work?" he asked, and Loki shot him a skeptical look. "Of course. You wouldn't have suggested it otherwise." He sighed, leaning back in his cushy chair.

Loki shrugged, pushing his book off of his lap and let it drop to the ground instead of putting it on his friend's desk. It was an odd habit of his—for Loki, things went on the **floor,** where he could find them, not piled on a desk under a million and a half other books. If you put his coat on the rack or his keys where they belonged, Loki would get confused, and you'd get yelled at. (Mr. Tomohiko had learned that ten years back, and yet to forget it.) Now Loki stood and looked his friend—and boss—squarely in the eye. He could tell his friend was still indecisive. "My teacher's got a dojo in this city. I could about what to do with your daughter there, if you want."

"You trust him? Your teacher, I mean?" asked the CEO, and oddly, Loki burst out laughing. "What's so funny?" he asked.

Loki leaned over and mussed his the man's hair—what he had left of it anyways. "Toshiro Yuu Tomohiko, my friend," he called him by his full name. "You've got a _lot _to learn."

-

* * *

- 

Kimiko busied herself with her PDA. The Japanese girl was always connected to the outside world… it was habit. Necessity, even. She couldn't imagine how awful it would be to have no one near, no one to talk to, no one who understood. THAT was her worst nightmare.

She hated to admit it, but Kimiko had a deep-seated need to be around people, hear them talking. It was one of the few ways she handled being alone, in a big mansion, with only the maids to keep her company. Oh, sure, her father came in every once in a while, and didn't NEGLECT her or anything, but Kimiko was far more social than was healthy. She needed to be connected 100 of the time, Videogaming and sleeping being the only two exceptions. And even then, her mind was busy, videogaming kept her mind active and sharp, while sleeping rejuvenated her brain. Maybe she was afraid of idleness, or being bored… but she knew that she'd go crazy if she were suddenly cut off from the world.

That had been one of her major concerns when she found out about her power; how would OTHER people take it? Would they shun her for being a freak? No, it turned out… money had more influence on people than magic, it seemed. None of the assistants or maids had spoken a word about her power to the outside world.

At the moment, she was chatting online with one of her best friends, Keiko, who was the first friend she'd ever made and the ONLY person outside the family who knew about her powers.

'**OMG, Kim, I would kill 2 b in ur skin!' **Keiko typed.

'**What? Y?' **Kimiko typed back.

'**B/C you can, like, fry any1 u want!' **she answered.

Kimiko shook her head. **'Yea, but I can't control my powers.' **she typed back. **'What if I kill some1?'**

'**O, Good point…' **

'**Plus, the staff look at me like I'm a freak. And I burn everything. Do u know how many gloves I've destroyed so far?' **Kimiko added.

'**Yea, 2 bad about that, the suede 1s were ur fave, right?' **Keiko sent back sympathetically.

Before she could answer, someone knocked on the door and came in. "Kimi?" Her father's voice reached her ears.

Kimiko smiled. "Just a second, Papa." She said, and turned back to the pda.

'**Hey, G2G, see u l8r?' **Kimiko asked Keiko.

'**Ok, make sure u call ASAP!' **her friend responded, then exited the chat.

Kimiko shut down the PDA, turning to her father once more. He came and stood beside her. "Kimiko," he started, "We may have found the solution to your problem…" he started, sounding a touch worried.

Kimiko nearly jumped at her father. "Really?"

"Yes," he said, nodding. "But you have to promise to keep an open mind to it when I tell you."

The girl nodded eagerly, but then frowned. "It's not sending me to a boarding school or anything, right?" she asked flatly.

"Ah, no." he answered.

"So then what is it?" Kimiko asked, fearing the answer.

"Well, I had a talk with Loki, you know Loki, right?… anyway, we got to talking about you, and he suggested…" Mr. Tomohiko paused. "Martial arts classes?"

Kimiko blew up. "No! NONONO! AbsoLUTELY not! Are you **crazy?!**" she shouted.

Mr. Tomohiko frowned at her. "You could at least consider it…"

"I know I won't like it! I'm too delicate and sophisticated for fighting! I'd be worked to the bone every day and not get any time to myself, and I'll have no other choice but to do it again the next day!" she cried.

Her father laid a hand on her shoulder gently. "Kimiko, it's all we can come up with. How else are we going to help you learn to control your power? I fear that if this goes on any longer, you might hurt someone." He said, making the girl look down in defeat. She knew he was right. She didn't like it… but he was **totally **right.

Mr. Tomohiko knelt beside his daughter to look her straight in the eye. "Listen, if you really detest it, you don't have to continue with the lessons. But could you at least give it a try? For me?"

Kimiko shifted on the spot. She continued to pout and look at her shoes. "You promise I can quit whenever I wish?" She asked, looking up suddenly. Her father nodded, and Kimiko looked around, thinking. "Fine," she said finally, not looking at her father. "When does this 'martial arts master' show up?" she asked, trying to come up with an image of what he looked like. Probably tall, overly-muscular, wearing some stupid fighting outfit…

"In a few hours, I believe." Her father said, relaxing a bit. He stood to exit her room. "You can prepare as you wish, just be downstairs before three o'clock." He added.

Kimiko nodded absently, still thinking. Her father hugged her and thanked her for cooperating, then left.

When the door closed behind her father, Kimiko sat on the bed and pouted. The silence and the realization of what was going to happen in a few short hours sunk into her skin, making her fidget uncomfortably. After only a second, she whipped out her cell phone and dialed Keiko's number. It rang once before her friend picked up.

"Oh my god, Keiko, You are NOT going to believe what just happened…"

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* * *

- 

How did it get to be three o'clock so fast?" Kimiko wondered. She wasn't hot on the idea of having martial arts classes, and had spent the previous few hours ranting to Keiko about how upset she was, but Kimiko was true to her word. At three O'clock, she was downstairs, ready to face the martial arts master.

That didn't mean she was going to give in easily. Kimiko had taken her time and put on a display; she was dressed in rebellious black clothes, her hair dyed a multitude of eye-smarting colors. It hung loose around her shoulders, and people had to squint when looking at her. To complete the costume, she also wore a murderous scowl on her face.

Loki came out of her father's office, where Mr. Tomohiko and Loki's teacher were talking about the 'job' of training Kim. When the bodyguard came out, Kimiko had to restrain herself from attacking the older man. Instead, she shot him a glare that could've curdled milk.

It was too bad Loki wasn't a dairy product, though. He just shrugged and sat next to her, ignoring the death threat in the girl's look. "Would you rather your father just ignore your problem, instead of offering a solution that you hate?" he asked lightly, unfazed by her glare. Kimiko tore her eyes away from him, knowing she wouldn't. Her father only suggested this because he wanted Kim to be all right.

Loki smiled encouragingly at the girl. "Relax. My teacher… well… She's not what you'd expect." He assured her, motioning to the closed door.

It took a second to sink in. "She…?"

There was no more time for questions, because a second later, the door opened.

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* * *

- 

Her father and Loki's teacher stood in the doorway. Kimiko's jaw dropped. It was a woman, twenty-or-thirty-something in age, wearing loose, casual clothing. Her dark hair was short and straight, framing her face elegantly. One strand of it was dyed white, and she wore narrow glasses in front of her mischievous eyes. Her thin lips were turned in a sly smile, which was directed at her father. "We'll see…" she said to him, carrying on a conversation that Loki and Kimiko hadn't heard.

Mr. Tomohiko shook his head with a smile, then turned forward. His eyes caught sight of his daughter. "Ah, Kimiko, you're here. Good." He nodded with approval. "This is Mistress Kimiyasha, she's Loki's teacher, the one I was telling you about."

Kimiko managed to shut her gaping mouth. "Ah, yes…" she said, still staring.

The newcomer turned to address Kimiko. "Ah, so you must be her." She said, looking Kimiko over. "Nice hair, by the way. Who's your stylist?"

"I am." Kimiko frowned at the woman, remembering why she was here in the first place. _'To take away my freedom. To mess up my life. Well, if SHE thinks she can just barge in and take over, she's got another thing coming. I'll at least make her WORK for it.'_ she thought, a sour look spreading on her face.

Mistress Kimiyasha seemed unconcerned. "Hm, interesting. Looks like you're pretty good at it." she thought aloud, twirling a short strand of hair around her finger. "Ok, so… It'd probably be best to start right away," she began, telling both Kimiko and her father. "If I could have some time with her alone…"

"Of course," Mr. Tomohiko nodded. He gave Kimiko a kiss on the forehead and left the room. Loki followed after him, stopping to murmur something to Mistress Kimiyasha.

"Careful," Loki warned with a sigh. "Don't go playing with fire, Sensei."

"What, you don't think I can handle a rowdy pre-teen?" she asked, smirking. "I handled YOU, didn't I?"

A blush crept over Loki's cheeks. "Th-that's not the same! I don't have magic," he pointed out.

"Didn't you?" She retalliated, her voice sugar-sweet.

Loki sulked. "No, I didn't. and I don't. If I had, I might've burned you to a crisp." He informed her. "What I meant was, don't go freaking Kimiko out… her dad's my boss."

"I'll keep that in mind…" the woman said with a mischevious grin.

Mr. Tomohiko's bodyguard hesitated for a moment, then shrugged, leaving after his boss. Once the door closed behind him, Mistress Kimiyasha and Kimiko turned to each other. Kimiko put on her best scowl, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "So," she started, her voice tart. "What exactly is the plan?"

The older woman leaned back on her heels for a second, thinking. "Hm… Ah, right." she said aloud, turning back to Kimiko. "Come on inside," she beckoned, entering the office that she'd been in only moments before.

Again, Kimiko frowned, but she followed obediently. Once inside, she shut the door behind her. She was surprised to find that a huge plasma screen tv was set up in the office, connected to the Jupiter 64 her father had made. Now kim was beginning to hesitate. Was this some sort of joke?

Mistress Kimiyasha plopped down in front of the TV, grabbing up a controller. "I'll play ya." She challenged, offering Kimiko the second controller.

Kimiko eyed the woman as she took the controller from her. She sat down carefully. "Um, aren't you supposed to be teaching me Martial arts or something?" she asked the woman. Mistress Kimiyasha was **not **what she'd expected.

The twenty-something-year-old woman started up the 'goo zombies' game, giggling. "Well, yes, but this sort of thing comes first." She explained. "I don't really know you all that well, and so how would I train you? I've got to know you better before I start telling you what you're doing wrong—or what you're doing right." She placed a controller into Kimiko's hands, turning her attention to the game.

"Oh." Kim blinked.

The game entered the first level, and it took the twelve-year-old a minute to realize she was loosing to an adult. In her favorite videogame, no less. Immidiately, she started making her way through the first level. She knew it by heart, so it was an easy warm up. Mistress Kimiyasha seemed to think so too. She pressed buttons casually, and a few minutes into the game, she began talking. "So tell me about this power of yours." She implored Kimiko.

"You mean the weird fire-thing." Kim said.

"Yes…"

Kimiko shrugged and pressed a few buttons on the controller. "What's there to say? It's a weird thing, waking up and burning down your bedroom door."

"You haven't had them for a long time, then?"

"No," Kimiko answered. "Just a week or so. But it seems like I did that an eternity ago."

Ms. Kimiyasha nodded, eyes straying from the screen to the girl sitting beside her. "So, you just conjured up fire one day. No signs of it when you were a kid?"

"Not that I know of."

The older woman looked back to the screen. The game proceeded to level 2. "Now that's odd. Most cases of Magic, they have SOME sort of power before it 'officialy' reveals itself. It doesn't usually just jump out of nowhere."

Kimiko rolled her eyes. "Magic this, magic that. How much magic have you encountered, anyway? You act like you're an expert." Kim chanced a look at the older woman, who was biting her lip in concentration.

"Ah, I've encountered enough magic to make myself an expert. But then again, there aren't many people that encountered magic before, so it's not exactly a presteigous title."

"What kind of magic?" Kim asked.

"ah…" the woman shook her head when her character on Goo Zombies failed to take down the monster in front of it. "**Old **magic. A-thousand-five-hundred-year-old magic. And a dragon." She giggled. "Boy, did my brother FREAK when he found out I knew a dragon…"

"A dragon." Kimiko rolled her eyes, skeptical.

Mistress Kimiyasha let her eyes stray over to the younger girl. "You don't believe me?" she asked, amused.

"Of course I don't. I'm not an idiot." Kimiko countered. "Not gullable. At. All."

The older woman laughed. "I didn't say you were. But I've seen him, even if he wasn't exactly… mystical." She giggled, her eyes going slightly out of focus to view a memory that Kimiko could not see. As she was remembering, her character on Goo Zombies died again. The sound brought her back to reality. "Besides," she began tapping the buttons on her controller again. "There are HUMAN dragons, too."

"Human dragons." Kim repeated.

"Oh yes," Kimiyasha nodded. "They're just called that, for some reason. They're masters of the martial arts, and train down in the temple. The TRUE dragons, the chosen ones, develop powers that—" the woman stopped, her character on the screen dying again.

Kimiko chanced another glance at the older woman. "What's up? What's wrong?" she inquired.

"You know… now that I think about it…" the woman thought aloud. "Your situation is similar to a human dragon's. Like a chosen one's situation would be… spontanious powers and all."

"What, you're saying that _I'm _some 'human dragon'?"

"No, no," the woman shook her head, short black hairs falling into her face. "I meant that you're LIKE a human dragon. Similar. I mean, I don't know the full extent of your powers, and even if you WERE a chosen one, I'm sure I would've gotten a call from the temple telling me to keep my eyes peeled for potential dragons." She assured Kimiko.

"Ah." Kimiko said. They went back to the game for some time, playing up to level five. This is where it got difficult… level five was Kimiko's least favorite level, with the exception of level eighty-four. Mistress Kimiyasha ran into a mystic goo zombie—special for this level only, it had magic powers and an animal familiar—and immidiately died. The woman made a questioning sound, and Kimiko shrugged. "That was a mystic goo zombie you ran into," she explained. "They were supposed to be wizards in the past life, and they sometimes have these familiars—animals that choose to go along with magical folk, kinda like a pet. That one must've had a dragon as a familiar… it kills anyone it meets right away." She explained.

Mistress Kimiyasha giggled at the thought but kept playing. It was Kimiko who broke the silence again. "So what is a 'human dragon', exactly?"

"Hm? Oh." She said, tapping buttons on the controller furiously. "Let's see… a human dragon…" she thought aloud. "They're elemental dragon warriors, first origionated fifteen hundred years ago or so. Their job is to protect these mystical items called Shen Gong Wu—it means 'the tools of god', if you translate it to english—but ledgend has it that the TRUE dragons are the only ones who get elemental powers. They're born to fight off evil that arises. Chosen ones, they're called." She explained, wincing as her character died on the goo zombies game again.

"Why are they the only ones to get powers?" Kimiko pressed.

"When the heylin forces—they're sort of the 'yang' to the Shen gong wu's 'yin'… when they get stronger, so do the shen gong wu. They activate, supposedly. And in order to defeat the heylin forces, the dragons need their own powers to protect the shen gong wu from them."

Kimiko flinched and growled as her own character on goo zombies died. "What's so important about the Shen Gong Wu?"

"They're sort of like the wildcard of magic. It can be Heylin magic OR Xiaolin magic, depending who owns it. Whoever owns them can tip the magical scale to their side. And more magic you've got, the better your chances are of winning."

Kimiko's game started up again, but she died immidiately; she ran into another mystic goo zombie right off the bat. Growing angry, she tried to supress her temper as it started up again. "So you're not just making this all up, right? I mean, I don't like it when people lie to m—hey!" she shouted as her character died once more. She ground her teeth at the screen, feeling her temper grow hotter again. Oh, how she HATED this level! It could take hours to get past it. as the level started over for her, she moved two steps forward and died once more. Clenching her controller, she tried to restraing herself from jumping up, throwing the controller into the tv screen, then jumping on it over and over until…!

"You have quite a temper for a 12 year old girl, you realize that?" Mistress Kimiyasha interrupted her thoughts. Kimiko, confused, tried to look where the older woman was staring at. At once, she saw. The controller in her hands was beginning to melt, sticking to her fingers. Flames sprouted from her palm, melting the outside of the device.

Kimiko nearly tossed the thing into the air. "OHMYGOD what do I do?" she shouted, holding it at arms length while attempting to pry the thing from her fingers. The woman sitting beside her shook her head.

"Take a deep breath," she ordered. "Calm yourself. Think about something you enjoy… pull the magic back into your skin."

At a loss for what to do, Kimiko decided to follow her orders. She closed her eyes and imagined the waterfall she'd visited when she was eight… it was her favorite memory. The cool water brushing her skin… she felt the fire of her temper and of her panic beginning to ebb away…

When she opened her eyes again, the plastic was beginning to harden. She let it fall from her fingers, so that it wouldn't stick to her hands. After a moment of staring at the twisted device, she sighed and flopped onto her back, staring at the ceiling. "Why did that work?" she asked Mistress Kimiyasha.

The woman pressed her lips together, thinking. "Because your power is connected to your emotion." She answered at last. "When you get angry, the fire starts, right? so reason follows that if you were calm, so would your power be."

Kimiko looked over at her. "So you're saying I can't ever be angry again?"

Her new teacher nearly laughed. "I don't know, maybe just until we've got a handle on your power." She shrugged, twirling her hair around her index finger. "That is, IF you'll let me be your teacher."

The twelve-year-old sat up. "What do you mean? Didn't papa already give you money for teaching me?" she inquired.

"Being assigned to the job is one thing," said the woman. "But I can't teach you a _thing_if you aren't ready to learn. And from what I can tell, you aren't very happy with the idea of having a tutor."

Shifting her body so she could sit cross-legged, Kimiko rubbed her eyes. "I like my free time," she admitted finally. "I don't want this… thing… to consume my life. I want to be able to sleep in on Saturdays and talk on the phone whenever I like. And it doesn't seem like an ultra-packed schedule of martial arts classes is going to aid that in any way whatsoever." She sighed.

Mistress Kimiyasha tapped her chin with one finger, turning what kimiko said over in her mind. "It wouldn't have to take up every hour of your day," she informed the pre-teen. "Just meditation, some basic strength lessons, and some personal time… which could include anything from doing eachother's hair to videogames. I'm not some dictator trying to take over your life, Kim."

"As for the 'being paid part'…" she went on, leaning back and setting her controller on the ground carefully. "I haven't asked him for any amount of money yet. Frankly, I'm not sure I could get your powers completely under control, even if you WERE up to the idea of having a teacher. Magic isn't my life, I don't know everything about it."

"But you can still try, can't you?" Kimiko found herself asking. She paused when she realized what she had just suggested—that this woman could be her teacher. Dejectedly, she hung her head. "I don't want this fire thing to take over my life, but I don't want to kill anyone by ignoring it, either." She said quietly.

A long moment passed as the two considered this. "Tell me, Kimiko Tomohiko," Ms. Kimiyasha started, her eyes full of life. "Would you like to learn how to control this fire? Would you truly put up with me?"

"Yes," she answered without hesitation.

"Do you really trust me with training you?" inqured the woman slowly.

This question took a second longer to answer. But the answer was the same. "Yes."

"Alright, last question, and this is crutial…" Mistress Kimiyasha leaned in.

"What is it?"

The woman picked up the melted controller. "Do you have another one of these? I fail to see how we can continue playing with this morphed controller." She stated, twirling the device curiously between her palms.

Kimiko smiled and stood up, nodding. "I'll go get one," she told the girl, turning and trotting off to get a new controller for Mistress Kimiyasha—correction—her new teacher.

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I'm incredibly annoyed with how it ended, but… I'm sorry! I didn't know how to end this chapter! XP next one'll be better, promise.  
You read it, now review it! (plese?)


	6. Getting Your Second Wind

Dragons will be Dragons 

_--_

:sigh: Wow, talk about procrastonating! I bet I'm in trouble for not updating for so long... But really, I have to get to the people I've ignored all this time. later. I think it was Monday all this week... :Sighs again: Anyway, I'll stop feeling sorry for myself...

Congratulations to Mel, nishikaze and Smallvilleshowdown; they caught the blatant foreshadowing; Rai's last name is Pedrosa, not Sanchez. And yes, that was intentional. All of you get cookies for noticing! And what do I plan to do with Rai's last name? You'll see… :cue evil music:

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* * *

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_NOTE!: notice how, as in last chapter, I have not yet succeeded in buying the copyright off of Christy Hui for Xiaolin Showdown. Oh well, I'll keep trying!_

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Ch. 6 getting your second wind

Rai woke up with a splitting headache. The fact that he was in a room—a very small, unfamiliar room—made it worse. Or more accurately, panicking and sitting up **far **too fast when he realized where he was made the headache worse.

He groaned and lay back down, squeezing his eyes shut. It helped him ignore his headache, and helped him forget he was in a small room. He continued to panic, though, so he opened his eyes.

He saw immediately that his old, tattered sweatshirt had been removed, replaced with a carefree blue colored one that went down well past his waist. He nearly laughed—it belonged to someone much taller than HE was. Underneath the blue shirt was a pair of loose pants, which had been modified to fit the smaller child. No shoes covered his calloused feet, just a blanket that he'd kicked aside.

Wait… was he on a mattress? He sat up, feeling beneath him. Sure enough, it was a mattress that someone had taken off its posts and left on the floor. A soft pillow had cradled his head, and a few blankets were strewn around him. There was also a plate of food next to the bed, one which Rai jumped on. He was hungry, but he always acted excited around food. He stuffed some of the cheese and fruit into his mouth while pocketing everything else. After about a minute, the plate was clean, either in his pockets or in his stomach.

Now that he had nothing else to distract him, Rai felt the room close in on him again. He flinched and tried to get to his feet, awed at how wobbly he felt. He hadn't felt this tired in ages.

He swayed on his feet, but caught himself on the wall. The room must've been pretty close to the outside, because he could hear the wind roaring through the walls. It made him feel slightly better, and helped clear his head. He noticed a door near him, and he wobbled over to it. As he walked, he tried to remember what had made him so **tired.** Nothing came back to him. It only made him worry… he couldn't remember a thing about what happened before now.

His hand grasped the doorknob and turned it. What lay beyond shocked him.

It was the BIGGEST house Raimundo had ever been in. He stared for a full minute, before his aching legs demanded him to **sit.** Which he promptly did, right there on the floor. And then he stared for another few minutes.

The wind outside brought him to his senses. He struggled to his feet once more, forcing himself over to a window. Rai opened it, and wind ran to greet him. Only then did he sit again (though this time on a chair, as he was supposed to.)

The wind helped. A **lot.** He let it twirl around him, messing up his already-mussed brown hair. It blew away his fear and worry, making him forget about the strange surrounding and the nagging question of how he GOT to wherever he was in the first place. Instead of worrying, he sat back in the chair and closed his eyes, feeling the snakelike breeze curl over his arms and face.

Something weird happened. His ears—which had always been sensitive—twitched. It seemed like he was hearing someone whispering in his ear… as though the winds that wrapped around him giddily were spilling out their secrets for him. It was like being in the marketplace; he heard voices of all ages and ethnicities meet his ears, only catching some snippets of conversation.

'_**-give you a hard time about this…' 'But I don't want-' 'and she, like, ditched me! How unfair-!' 'Idiot, where did you hear that?' 'but Rachel, where is wai-wai?" **_

The last voice made him bolt upright. It had sounded just like his little brother, Zeik. Exactly like him.

"**_I'm going insane…"_ **he thought to himself, trying to block out the voices. They returned, though, as if carried on the winds. He shook his head, trying his best to ignore them. He'd begun hearing these voices a few weeks ago, and there was no way Raimundo was going to loose his head over it now. Instead of focusing on the wind-voices, he took a piece of cheese he'd stuffed in his pocket earlier, nibbling on it. He closed his eyes, trying to remember what had happened.

"I remember I was at work." He started, hoping to remember what happened. The statement 'I was at work' was always true, because Rai was always at work. Hopefully, though, it would be a good start to remember what happened. He repeated it again, hoping the memory would come back to him. "I was at work… I went home? Yeah, I did. And I brought some food home, because I always do."

He took another bite of cheese, something nagging him. "The food I brought home… was… was… it wasn't a lot of food, I remember, so I didn't eat…" the memory hit him again. "Oh, right. Rachel yelled at me because I didn't eat anything." He recalled, nibbling on the cheese again.

Another pause, and he tried to remember what came next. "Ah, right. Then I went to go see Vince, right? But what happened **next?!**" he asked, annoyed. He couldn't remember.

He let his eyes roam around the room. There seemed to be no real explanation of why he was in this big house… or who it belonged to, even. He groaned and headdesked, making his headache worse.

Wind continued streaming through the window. It wrapped around him, bringing new voices at every turn. Voices that rode on the winds whispered in his ear, spilling out secrets that the Brazilian kid did not want to bother with. It was making his headache steadily harder to deal with, and Rai didn't have the strength to cover his ears. Right now, he wanted to **sleep. **

He was close to dozing off when a voice reached his ears. There was no doubt about it—it was his sister, Rachel's voice. He'd heard it a million times before, but now it was different… It was far too close. Just outside the house, even. Rai forced himself to sit up, then to stand.

Scraping noises reached his sensitive ears; someone was putting a key into a lock. A male voice also met his ears, kind and strong. Was someone coming into the house?

Raimundo's eyes flew over the place. There was nowhere he could hide… even if he had the strength to move more than two feet. Vainly, he tried to move in the direction of the room he'd bee in earlier, with no success. He was just too tired to move.

The owner of the voice opened the door, letting the hinges creak. Footsteps… far too many to belong to a single person… and then he appeared at the doorway across the room.

It was a man, just as Raimundo'd predicted. Rai immediately recognized his face, but couldn't remember **where **he'd seen this man before. Green-grey eyes… strong jaw… black hair… He felt like the answer was on the tip of his tongue when the man set down the bag he'd been carrying and made his way over to the thirteen-year-old kid. "You're awake." He said lightly, though worry entered his voice when he saw how wobbly the kid appeared.

"Who's awake?" Rai heard a more familiar voice demand from behind the newcomer. Rai turned to see his sister setting down Zeik.

"Rachel?" Rai asked, feeling confused. He swayed on the spot.

Faster than he could blink, Rachel was upon him. "Good GOD Rai, where the HELL were you? What possessed you? What happened?" she blurted out, grabbing him by the shoulders to look him over. Rai's vision went slightly out of focus, but he shook it off.

"Uh… Rachel?" Rai asked, still confused.

"Geezus, Rai, I swear, you disappear for two days, and when Vince came home we were in a total **panic** because not only did you not eat before leaving, but you didn't visit him either, and we thought something TERRIBLE had happened…" she went on, ignoring him.

"Rachel…"

"You're gone for two days and all you can say is 'Rachel Rachel Rachel.' Geezus, Rai! Then this man comes," she paused to look at him and nod respectfully, showing she meant no harm, "And tells us that our brother collapsed and he's been trying to find us the entire time, and you were all right, and… Geezus, Rai!" she repeated, hugging her brother close.

Raimundo blinked as this sunk in. "Two days? I was out for two DAYS?! I can't even remember what happened!" he said, shock filling his voice.

Rachel stepped back a moment, her hands still on Rai's shoulders. Then she looked over to the newcomer with worry. Rai looked too, now realizing that not only was Rachel there, but so were the rest of his siblings, all seven of them. "By the way, why is everyone all here? Doesn't David need to go to work? Or maybe not… what time is it?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

Mai, Raimundo's youngest sister, hugged David's leg. The older kid picked her up, and when he stood again, Rai noticed something faint in the air. He sniffed, his sensitive nose on full alert. "I smell smoke." He stated accusingly.

Rachel flinched slightly. "Rai… there was an… accident." She started.

"A… an… Acidente." Rai repeated, not believing his ears.

Nodding, Rachel bit her lip. They lived in a home where English was mainly spoken, but whenever Rai was ticked or upset, he'd fall into his native Portuguese. Despite the warning sign, she decided to tell him what was wrong. "No one knows what happened, really, or how…" she said, shaking her head. "The entire block caught fire. The Rameras, the Blancas, our neighbors, us… all of our homes fried." She explained sadly.

"But i-ss okay, 'cuz Mr. Skye says we can stay here." Zeik interrupted, drawing attention to him. Rai stared.

"Mr… Sky." Raimundo repeated.

The newcomer coughed when he understood what the three-year-old meant. "Oh, I think he means me." He shook his head. "Skye… it's my first name." he said with a blush.

"Ah." Rai said, understanding. He tried to take in what Rachel had told him—that their house was burned to the ground. "When did this happen?" he asked finally.

"Just last night." Rachel said. "I think someone was careless with a cigarette, if you ask me. It's not like an arsonist would target our home." She shrugged, and the other kids nodded; they lived in a relatively run-down place.

Raimundo blinked, thinking. He'd never liked where they lived—it was always too cramped, confined… he never went there unless it was to say hello to his family or drop off food. His siblings would be taking it harder than him, really. Still, there was just something about loosing a house that made everything more complicated. For one, did their parents know where they were? _'**Do they even care?'**_ Rai couldn't help but think bitterly.

"So our house is gone." Rai repeated. Rachel nodded, and Rai cocked his head to the side, trying to think. He was too tired. "Gone. And he," Rai looked at Skye, "Says we can stay. Here." Rachel nodded again, a worried glint entering her eyes.

"Are you ok?" she asked, feeling his forehead.

"I'm…" He swayed for a second again, and his knees gave. Rachel was quick, though, and caught him before he hit the ground. "I'm just tired." Rai insisted with a groan.

Rachel shook her head and looked at Skye. "I don't think he's ok." She said, ignoring her brother's indignant 'hey!'.

Skye shook his head. "No, I guess not. I shouldn't be surprised, though, after what happened." He sighed, running his fingers through his short black hair. Skye pursed his lips together, thinking. "We should let him sleep some more. I'll call the doctor again, although it's probably just fatigue." He summed up. Under his breath, he added, "Though I wonder if a medical doctor could pinpoint a magical problem, like this boy might have…"

"What was that?" Rai asked. He'd heard SOMETHING, but his brain wouldn't process the words.

"Nothing." Skye waved it off with a shrug. He took Rai into his arms, and Rai was virtually dwarfed; the man was a giant. A frown passed over Skye's face again, and sniffed the air. "You were supposed to **eat **that food, not put it in your pockets, kid." He informed Rai.

"Nice to know someone ELSE around here has the nose of a canine." He muttered, his hands fluttering over his pockets where he'd hid the food earlier. "I wouldn't have thought your nose was as sensitive as mine."

Skye grinned, shrugging. "Anyway, you should sleep." He said, turning to go to the room Rai'd woken up in.

Rai, seeing this, clung to Skye's shirt. "NONONONONO! I hate small places!" he protested, pushing away from the door. It did little good—he was too weak to make any difference. "Can I sleep outside instead?" Raimundo begged.

The man sighed to himself. "Ah, Claustrophobic. I should've known." He said to himself. Now he turned to address Rai. "Listen, kid, I know it's hard to sleep in small rooms, but it's better this way too. Smaller rooms are quieter, and better for someone who's healing. It also lets your chi focus itself." He informed the boy in his arms.

Raimundo gave the man a skeptical look. "Chi? Right."

"Trust me on this," Skye insisted. "Besides, you'll be asleep before you know it, no problem." When Rai's skeptical look didn't disappear, he added, "I'll open the window."

That brightened up Rai's mood a bit. "If you say so." He shrugged, or at least tried to. In truth, he was almost asleep in the man's arms already. He felt his eyes flutter as they entered the room, and he fought against it. "My family…" he started.

"…will be fine. They aren't going anywhere, kid." Skye told him firmly. "Get some rest, ok?" he added, but had to smile. He lay the Brazilian kid down onto the mattress, covering him with the sheet. Skye knew Raimundo probably hadn't heard his last comment…

Because Rai was already asleep.

-

* * *

-

When he awoke, feeling more refreshed and sure of himself, Rai's need for open spaces drove him out of the tiny room and up the stairs. It didn't open up to the roof, as many houses did around his village, but it was more open than either the room he'd slept in or the kitchen. He wandered around, wondering where his family was. As he looked around, he turned the corner, finding a door that was slightly ajar. Curious, he pushed it open.

The room was huge. For the second time that week, Raimundo had to brace himself from falling over at the sheer size of the room. He felt as though he was on the verge of a nosebleed as his head tilted backwards to see how high the ceiling went. "No wonder it doesn't open to the roof. This thing probably breaks through the atmosphere…" he muttered, knowing he was over exaggerating.

To take his mind off how many floors this house had, (probably three… or four… no, stop thinking about it!) he let his gaze fall and he swept the room with a glance. His eyes immediately picked out an open window, and shelves and shelves of books. Something in the corner caught his eye, making him hesitate.

There was a man sitting at a table, staring at a game board of some kind. His brows were furrowed, and he was thinking hard. He reached forward and moved one of the pieces on the board to a different spot. Then, to Rai's surprise, he grabbed the table's edge and turned it in a 180-degree turn. He glanced up a moment, his grey-green eyes meeting with Rai's jade ones. "So you're up. For good, this time?" he asked, leaning back in his chair comfortably.

Raimundo slowly headed over to the man. It was the guy he'd met LAST time he'd woken up… what was his name again? S—… sk…

Skye, that's right. Rai stopped a few feet away from the board, eyeing the older man with interest. Finally, his curiosity got the better of him. "What's that?" he pointed to the board.

Skye smiled. "Chess. It's a board game. Ever heard of it?"

"No." Rai answered lightly, attempting to put his hands in his pockets before he realized he no longer wore his worn-down sweatshirt. Instead, he sighed and shifted his feet, one hand straying up to tug on the bridge of his nose. "It's Skye, right?"

The man nodded. "Skye Pedrosa, at your service." He motioned to the chair on the other side of the board. "Have a seat, won't you?"

"That's ok," Rai answered quickly.

Skye simply shrugged, unfazed by the quick turn-down. He lifted his hand and placed a piece across the board, then turned it around again. "Why do you do that? Aren't you supposed to have two people to play?"

The man smiled. "Normally, yes, but I rarely have anyone to play with, so I challenge myself. I find I am a very tough opponent," he grinned, then glanced down to the board again with a frown. "A very tough opponent who might have just put himself in checkmate…"

"But… but you already know what you're going to do before you… do it, I… guess…"

Waving a finger at him, Skye smirked. "That's what makes me so tough to beat!" he exclaimed. "I've got a win-lose ratio of twenty-zero."

"But is that twenty wins, or twenty losses?" Rai asked dryly.

"Eh, I'm still working on that." He shrugged, frowning at the board. He tapped each piece a moment, glaring at the board. Finally he sighed. "Yup, that's checkmate." He concluded, sighing. He began pushing the pieces to either side, black in one pile and white in the other. "So what can I do for you?" he asked suddenly, making Rai jump with guilt.

"Ah, um?" Raimundo searched for words that escaped his normally-sharp tongue.

"Your head hurt?"

"Yes." The Brazilian answered without thinking.

"How bad?"

"Bad enough…" the boy answered, eyeing the man with distrust in his voice.

Skye sat back. "Tired?"

"Well, duh. Not as tired as before, though."

"Do you remember what happened?"

"I woke up, and you guys showed up a while later…"

"I mean, before I brought you into my house." Skye said.

Rai paused, blinking. "I went to see Vince." He started slowly, not wanting to admit that he didn't remember much.

Skye got the hint easily enough. "So, no, huh?" Rai shook his head. "Funny, you think you'd remember the first time you fell off a cliff."

"Fell off a—!" Rai backed up in shock. Suddenly the wind, which was pouring through the open window nearby, picked up violently. It kept him from falling over backwards, but it scattered paper and books around him, papers fluttering in a shape that vaguely resembled a tornado. Raimundo frowned and batted a stray paper away, noting the odd wind surrounding him. Was that normal?

Skye, upon seeing this, sighed and rubbed his face. "You were ok, though." He went on. "Do you know why?"

Rai batted at the paper-tornado again, wishing it would stop flying up in his face. His street-instincts were bugging him as he did so. "Does it have anything to do with… this?" he swatted another paper away, wondering if he would pick up a paper cut on one of them by doing so too many times.

"Yes." He sighed.

Rai frowned, trying to urge the memory out of his brain. An image came back to him; he was being chased towards a cliff by someone, and had oranges in his hands…

"Did I steal some fruit?" he inquired, thinking.

Skye nodded again, letting Rai go through the process of remembering.

The scene continued in Raimundo's head; he ran towards the cliff, and seeing it, he skidded to a halt. He turned to face the man chasing him, and the next second… the cliff fell away, and he was falling…

Except… no… he wasn't falling…

"I…" Rai blinked in amazement. "I was floating!"

"So you remember." Skye commented.

Rai didn't seem to hear him. "I was floating! That's, like, entirely impossible, right?" he questioned earnestly, leaning towards the man. "I mean, I've never heard anyone do that before, y'know?"

Skye shook his head. "No, it's not normal, not for humans." He responded.

"So it's normal for something, right?" Rai asked, finally listening to the man.

"Well," he shrugged. "Flying's natural for some things. Birds… flying fish… bugs…" he listed, "…Dragons…"

"What was that last one?"

"Flying fish?"

"NO," Rai shook his head, frustrated. "The very last one!"

Skye chuckled and sat back in his chair. "Ah, you mean dragons?"

Rai stared. "You… you actually… They're just legends!" he stuttered, confused.

"Perhaps," Skye said with a shrug. "But no one said that legends can't be true. I've met a dragon myself, you know. Not the huge, overly-powerful type… he looked more like a gecko." He lowered his eyelashes in thought. "I may have just met a human dragon as well…"

Rai continued to stare, this time speechless. When he tried to talk, all that came out was a bunch of gibberish. The sound, though, made the older man look up from his thoughts in confusion. His eyes met with Rai's jade ones, and he immediately smiled. "Anyway," he said, brushing off his previous thoughts. "The wind thing. This is how it works; you were in trouble, and your elemental powers were awakened inside of you, and you unknowingly wielded them to save your life."

"HUH?" Rai asked, confused at the big words. "You lost me at the elemental thing."

Skye laughed. "Let's see… how to explain this…" he mused. "You have super powers with wind." He started.

"Ok…"

"You fell off a cliff, you freaked out, activated these wind powers. You were saved." He went on. "But now the problem is… you are no longer in danger, and yet these powers are still here."

"Could'a fooled me," Rai muttered sarcastically, batting a paper caught in the tornado away from him. "So how long till they go away?"

Skye blinked at him. "Well, that'd be… never."

"Wh-what?!"

"I said that it would be ne-"

"I KNOW WHAT YOU SAID!" Rai's eye twitched. "But what did you MEAN?"

"A wind elemental cannot RETRACT his powers like they never existed," Skye shook his head. "The only way to… 'Get rid' of them," Skye flinched at that, "Though I have a hard time imagining WHY you would want to…"

"How do I get rid of them?" Raimundo asked flatly.

"You have to train, hone your body to keep the power in check." Skye answered after a moment's silence.

Raimundo shook his head and groaned. "Great. Now how am I going to do THAT?! I have no money, no house, a family to feed… not to mention staying away from the parents, assuming they can find us now that the house is burned down, but that would be a majorly bad thing if they came and started taking the money again, you know? And what if this wind thing gets in the way of work… oh my god, work! How long have I been missing work?! I'm sure as hell fired by now! And…"

The older man coughed, making Raimundo look up at him. "Well, I hate to butt in on this riveting conversation you're having…" he said, making the Brazilian blush. "But I could teach you, if you wish…"

Jade green eyes blinked at him. "Say what?"

-

* * *

-

"So let me get this straight," Raimundo said, leaning against the empty chair. "You're offering to… train me. With this wind-thing." Skye nodded. "And if I do let you, then you'll give my brothers and sisters a home with you. And you'll let me live with you." He summed up.

Again, Skye nodded. "What do YOU get out of this deal?" Rai had to ask.

Skye grinned, a glossy look shining in his eyes. "The chance to train an elemental! Oh, I'd never thought I'd ever see power like yours, much less train it!" he said, his voice awed. "I've lived with a martial arts master in the depths of china, hearing about legendary powers such as yours, owned by the elemental dragons. Granted, there's no proof that you've got that exact power, no actual PROOF that you're a dragon… but it's still amazing. It would be an HONOR to train you in the fighting arts."

"You do realize that it takes a ton of money to raise eight rowdy children properly…" Rai said, testing him.

Skye simply brushed it off. "Does it look like I've got any shortage of money? Besides, where else would you live?" he asked softly, hoping he wasn't stepping over the line. "I somehow doubt that your parents will be coming home any time soon."

Raimundo found himself nodding. "Yeah, you may be right about that." He sighed.

Now the older man shook his head. "Raimundo, I don't have any children of my own. Your siblings are almost like… like kids to me, in the few short days you've spent at my house. I don't want to give that up." He informed the Brazilian child. "You won't regret putting yourself in my care, or my training."

Rai hesitated for a moment. "What would it entail, this training?" he asked cautiously.

Skye sat back and thought. "Well, for one, I'd have to run you through the basics of martial arts, the punch, the kick, balance, being in shape, because a disciplined body helps to discipline your power." He said, thinking aloud. "…but I'd also help hone your mind, sharpen it with trials and tests, like…" he motioned to the board that sat in front of him. "Like chess, for example."

"Why?"

The man sighed. "An ordered mind helps let you know how to tap into your power at will, and how to stop using it. It helps with control. That includes meditation, but intelligence helps order as well. Plus," he grinned. "You can't fight without your wits, boy. What's the point of learning martial arts if it's useless in battle?"

Rai nodded. "Would I be able to stop whenever I wished?"

"You'd have to give me an accurate reason why, probably, but yes."

"You wouldn't lay a finger on my siblings?"

"Not ever." He replied.

"You'd give my family what we need, like food and shelter?"

"I'd give you that and more… I could give you things you WANT for the sake of having. Books, TVs, computers…" he put his hands behind his head. "I've never had children before, so there's a high chance that I'd be prone to spoiling all of you."

Rai paused, searching the man's light grey-green eyes for signs that he was lying. When he found none, the Brazilian bit his lip and came around the empty chair, sitting down in it. He looked carefully down to the chess board. "So… how do you play this… chess thing?" he asked.

Skye Pedrosa broke into a grin, and started explaining the game to his new student.

-

* * *

-

Fweeeee! Ya know, I didn't think I'd EVER get this chapter up. XP I mean, it wasn't as though it was hard to write… I had the first and last parts done no problem. It was connecting the two that was… annoying…

Do you notice how these are getting slightly longer, each chapter? It's a conspiracy!

…

Anyways…

Next chap, we'll be back to Clay. Actually, I'll be adding Omi next chap, Just letting anyone who's a fan of him know…

Four more chaps to go! Reviews are appreciated! (holds up sign that reads 'will write for reviews') I Do take anonymous reviews, to anyone who's curious! (Dies)


	7. A Rolling Stone

Dragons will be Dragons 

Who's the #1 procrastinator? I am! I am!

Eh, so… Sorry about the wait. I sort of hit writer's block there. I got halfway through the chapter and realized "Hey, there's no way to tell 100 percent if they're really a dragon or not, is there?" and I had to meditate on how to fix that one for a while. I came up with an abstract idea that I used for another story, so I hope it doesn't throw you off track too much.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, Deborah Rustad (Clay's teacher), Mistress Angela Kimiyasha (Kim's teacher), Skye Pedrosa (Rai's teacher), and Master Fung were all friends and belonged to the temple where the show takes place. Master Fung was the only one to remain at the temple though, and the others went back into the world. Just letting you know, since it's a key point in this story…

BTW, Kimiko's chapter is going to be a little late in coming as well. If you want a timeline for the next update, you should probably expect in it either the last week of June or by the first of July, but if it's not up by then, don't check back until august. Reason being: I'm going to Europe for July. (I'm sorry!)

Anyways, no use holding you up. On with the story!

-

* * *

- 

_Note: Thou shall not owneth anything one does not owneth. Or… something like that. Translation: I don't own… Xiaolin Showdown! (dramatic music)_

* * *

Ch. 7 a rolling stone 

At the temple, Master Fung read and re-read the letter he'd just gotten, placing it beside two nearly identical ones. He sighed, feeling mildly anxious. Three, in the last year? Now Omi, a young orphan who'd trained at the temple since birth, was starting to show signs as well… signs that appeared to show he was the chosen Dragon of Water. To top that off, just in the last week, Master Fung had gotten three letters from three of his old time friends, all with their own elemental students. It seemed, too, that these students were not adapting to their powers as easily as Omi—that had to be the most incriminating evidence that they were dragons.

If they WERE the chosen dragons, then their powers would not settle until they set foot on the temple grounds.

With that thought, he stood. "Come, Dojo," he called, "We've got somewhere to be."

A small dragon popped his head out of the nearby door. "At so early in the morning?" he whined, yawning. "And what about the scrolls?"

"I'll leave them in the care of the elders." Master Fung told the lizard-like being. "But we've got a problem on our hands, and that's best dealt with immediately." Dojo gave him a questioning look, following.

"Don't tell me someone died," Dojo joked, looking across the grounds. The first rays of the morning sun brushed everything, giving the buildings and scenery a heavenly glow. Master Fung shook his head to answer Dojo's question, and the dragon yawned. "Then I don't really see what the problem is. Let's just go back to bed, before the kid gets up."

"I think he already **is **up, Dojo." Master Fung looked at the corner of the temple, and, (Dojo nearly missed it, the movement was so fast,) a yellow head disappeared around the corner.

"Ah, the tyke." Dojo shrugged. "I forget, he likes getting up early."

"Omi, come here, won't you?" Master Fung called gently to the boy. The kid—Omi—peeked around the corner. Finally he stepped into full view, heading over to the Martial arts master.

"Are you going somewhere, Master Fung?" The boy asked politely. Master Fung nodded, and Omi's curiosity burst. "Really? To where? Can I come? Why are you leaving? How long? Will you bring me a present?" he asked, jumping up and down in place.

Master Fung smiled. "All right, in order; yes, I'm going all over, I'm sorry, but you can't come, it's a secret, I'll be back in less than a month, and yes." He answered.

Omi sat down promplty. "You will be gone for a month?" he asked.

"Possibly. I cannot be sure how long this errand will take." Fung told him gently. Omi sighed, and the martial arts master patted the young monk on his bald head. "Do not worry, young one, I will be back."

"Won't you pleeaassee tell me where you are going?" the child pleaded.

"All right then," Master Fung said, giving Omi a small smile. "To Texas, Japan, and Brazil."

Omi stood up. "Oh. Ok." He said, and hugged the elderly man's legs. He let go after a minute, stepping back. "By the way, about that lake I accidentally drained—" he paused, blushing.

"Do not worry about it, Omi. We can always re-fill it." Master Fung laughed and started walking away. "I will see you soon, Omi. Goodbye." The boy nodded and left.

Dojo brought up the rear, rubbing his neck. He crawled up onto Master Fung's shoulders. "Ah, so, if you don't mind me asking, why are we going to Texas, Japan, and Brazil, anyway?"

-

* * *

- 

Clay was sitting inside. He really didn't like being idle, but his parents had ordered him to stay inside for the day. He couldn't even get to his lessons with Cousin Debbie; rumor was floating around that the Black Viper gang was in town, and no one dared set a foot beyond their doors. Well, Maybe Cousin Deb, or Crazy ol' man Ruiny, but that was another story… Deb was a fighter, and Crazy ol' man Ruiny was… well, he was crazy.

Suddenly, the screen door slammed, making Clay look up. He met his sister's eyes as she walked through the doorway, screen door slamming behind her. She shrugged and made her way towards the kitchen, and Clay stood and followed her.

"Where've you been?" he asked her.

"Don't tell me ma 'n pa were upset 'bout me bein' gone?" Jesse joked. "I was down town an' met a few interestin' characters…"

Clay's eyes widened. "You went OUT?" he asked.

Jesse averted her eyes. "Not like it was nuthin' terrible. Don't make a fuss, bro." she ordered. "B'sides, I saw Cousin Deb pickin' some stranger up from the airport. I thought y'd like t' know…"

"Probably just some family of hers," Clay brushed it off. "Now seriously, Jess, the Black Vipers are in town! Are ya nuts goin' out there in broad daylight? What if you'd gotten cornered by them?"

Jesse smirked slightly for a moment, then hid her face from her brother by turning away. He'd seen the smirk though, and knew something was up. Still, he politely waited for an answer.

"They ain't nuthin' terrible," Jess repeated. "An' on top of that, I aint no lily-skinned city gal. I can take care of m'self, believe it or not!" she informed her brother.

THAT was something he couldn't argue with. Clay knew that his sister had plenty of fight in her… but that didn't stop him from worrying. Still, she'd backed him into a corner, so there was nothing to do but let it slide for now. He made up his mind to ask her about it later.

Suddenly the phone rang. Jesse, worried that her brother would start arguing again, snatched up the receiver. "Yeah?" she asked quickly, turning her back to her brother. "mm hmm… yeah… alrighty then, I'll be tellin' him. Bye." She hung up the phone and turned to Clay.

"Who was it?" the blonde boy asked.

"Cousin Debbie. She wanted t' let ya know that she's a'comin' and she's bringin' a friend with her." She informed her brother. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be in my room if yall need me."

Clay almost wished to go after her as she disappeared down the hallway. Something was up, he knew, and he wanted to find out exactly what it was, but… if they had guests, he'd best start preparing and let ma and pa know first. With a sigh, he left the kitchen to find his parents, hoping silently that his sister wasn't planning anything drastic….

* * *

When the bell rang, the family was ready for it. the table was set, the meal was big enough for seven people (including the mother, father, grandmother, kids, and the two visitors), and the house was sparkling clean. Yes, they were ready for when company showed up, all right. What they weren't ready for was who, exactly, was behind that door. 

As Clay cracked open the entry, his eyes found Cousin Debbie, just as Jesse had said, and also the newcomer she'd mentioned. Clay wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it sure wasn't who was standing there now; an old man in his fifties or sixties at least, wearing a white and blue shirt and black pants. His head was bald, probably shaved instead from the result of hair loss, for he had a beard and mustache as well. the newcomer's eyes regarded the boy coolly, as Clay turned to Debbie for an explanation.

"Hey, now there, Clay, yall're just goin' t' let us bake out here in the sun? Let us in! It's hotter than a fryin' pan at breakfast out here. I thought ya had some manners in ya, boy." Deb scolded him playfully. Embarrassed, Clay stood aside and let the two in, noticing the man had a suitcase with him. The man carefully set his package by the entryway so no one would trip over it, and didn't appear to be staying; if he had, he'd've brought it farther inside the house with him.

Seeing Clay's curiosity as he shut the door behind them, Deb turned to address her student. "Now Clay, this is my ol' time friend, Master Fung. You've heard me talkin' about him b'fore, haven't ya?" she motioned to the elderly man accompanying her.

"Well, yes, Cousin Debbie, I believe so," Clay replied politely, glad to put a name to the new man's face.

Master Fung bowed to him slightly, something Clay had only seen Great Grandpa Grittus and Cousin Deb do to anybody. The boy took the action with amusement as he led him and his teacher into the kitchen. His mother and father looked up to see the company that had arrived, and their eyes nearly fell from their sockets when they inspected Master Fung; he was quite an odd thing to see in the country household.

Jesse also made a rare appearance out of her room. She'd been holed up in there tight since she'd returned that afternoon, and the group had seen nary a hair of her since lunch. Upon seeing the new master, Jess could only smirk and shrug, giving the old man a polite nod of the head before returning to whatever she was keeping busy with in her room.

Before Clay could go after her, his parents began a barrage of questions on the newcomer, seemingly having forgotten their manners completely. The old man took the questions in stride, apparently expecting this, and perhaps even slightly amused by them. He gave Cousin Debbie a knowing look from the corner of his eye, smiling a bit. Deb had to purse her lips to keep from smirking… it failed, but at least she tried. Finally, after the two adults had quieted down a bit, (Clay's Grandma almost had to whack Mr. Baily with her oversized purse to get him to shut up and mind his manners,) Deborah Rustad made an attempt to introduce Master Fung to the rest of the family.

"Where's he from?" Clay's mother blurted out, still a little amazed at the odd monk in her kitchen.

"All the way from his stuffy temple in China," Cousin Debbie joked, elbowing him in the shoulder. "It'll do him some good to get out of that ol' rust bucket he calls home. I'd be surprised if that place even has electricity!" she joked.

"Sounds like a nice n' quiet getaway, there," Clay shrugged. "This place didn' have electricity or runnin' water till I was five, at least…"

"You must be hungry from all that traveling," His mother said. "Would you like to eat? The food is prepared an' all…" she motioned behind her to the table, set with plates and, more importantly, food.

Master Fung glanced sideways to Deborah Rustad, smiling. "Yes, I would hate to keep you from your dinner," he nodded. "Let us eat."

"Jess!" Mr. Baily called down the hallway as the family gathered around the table. "It's time t' eat, so get out here!"

"I'll eat later!" Jess answered, equally as loud.

"We've got company, remember? You should come an' chow down while we're all together, elswise there mightn't be anythin' left for ya!" Her father warned.

"I'm busy!" was Jess's only reply.

The man hesitated, annoyed that his daughter wouldn't come to the table. But after a moment, he came to sit down with the family. "You have any idea what she's a'doin' in there, son?" he asked Clay. In response, Clay just shook his head, equally confused at his sister's reaction.

"Well, let's not wait anymore, the food's gettin' cold!" Deb exclaimed, helping herself to some mashed potatoes. The family jumped at the food, leaving Clay smiling. Sure, he was curious at what was going on with his sister, but Deb's attitude towards the whole thing made it difficult to brood. Leave it to Deb; that was the rule of thumb. She could find an answer to almost anything…

* * *

Like most six-occupant family dinners, the food was gone far before the hour was. The group had since then washed the dishes, brewed some tea, and settled themselves in the living room to talk. 

Clay glanced down the hallway towards Jesse's room, still wondering where his sister could be. He decided to give her privacy, however, as he couldn't leave the company that their family had; that would be rude. Instead he turned to Deb, who was now leaning back into the nearby rocking chair and sipping her tea. The old man was sitting neatly on a couch, posture perfect. His parents were making polite conversation with them, and Cousin Debbie was talking with Clay's grandmother. Clay listened in on what Deb had to say.

"So you're back from the land of dust, huh?" His grandmother asked, her Texan accent barely noticeable. She sounded more like a Californian, as she had been visiting around the country for the past six months.

"And you're back in it," Deb commented.

"Technically, I try to avoid the outside. I've never really liked the outside, anyway; as a girl, I was always taught to go on down to the town and keep myself clean. The boys were the ones who did the heavy liftin'."

Clay smirked. His grandmother had come from a wealthy English family, who'd moved here in search of gold and a steady settlement. They'd been stationed closer to Louisiana, but upon hearing ranching was a good way to make money, the younger children, (His grandmother and her two siblings,) had been deported out there. Her two brothers had treated Clay's grandmother like gold, and never let her outside in the sun, so she was almost purely English, no Texan influences imposed on her. Until she met Grandpa, she'd done no work at all, and then she had done so little it was amazing.

She'd married Horace Baily, Great Grandpa Grittus's son. And predictably, the old man had drilled his son in chivalry for years, leaving it so that Horace Baily took the lady's hand easily; he was the most refined cowboy in the area, and had wooed her properly. Even after marriage, he had kept her high on the pedestal, letting her do no work she didn't want to do. But the concept of working for a living intrigued her, and so she ended up trying it out for herself. This gave her a good background, and while she didn't like to work as much, she still had spunk that had been hidden underneath her ladylike treatment before; now that she was with Horace, her rougher edge had come to the surface. In time she'd learned to work and to voice her opinions, and that made her into the person she was today.

Deb liked the sort of person she was. They were close friends, so when Debbie had won a contest for a trip around the states, (she hadn't even been aware she'd entered the contest in the first place,) she gave it to Clay's grandmother. Now she was back, but only for a short time, and during that time, she and Deb were having their own fun.

"So what brings this old man to the states? He's from China, right?" Clay's grandmother asked, looking over to the new comer.

"I was wonderin' that m'self," Clay said softly. Deb looked at him for a moment, then over to Master Fung. He, oddly enough, looked back at her at the same time. Clay watched the interaction, confused.

Deb finally turned back to Clay. "You." She admitted.

"Me…?" Clay repeated.

Master Fung smiled pleasantly at Clay. "Deborah tells me you have an impressive power," he commented. "How is training and controlling it coming along?"

Clay blinked at the older man a few times before letting his eyes stray to his teacher. "You… told him?" he asked her.

Guilty, Deborah Rustad looked down into her teacup, fingering the edges nervously. "Clay, I had to. Your power, it aint… it aint settlin' an' it's leavin' me nervous. Y'know how I mentioned that yer power was like that of the legendary dragons'?" she looked up. "If yer power aint settlin', it might mean that it isn't just **similar **to that power… it might mean that your power IS that power."

Clay looked at her, astonished. "Tell me you're joking."

Debbie shook her head. "I wish I could. That's why I brought Master Fung here to talk with you," she explained. "He's an expert on magic, and he'll be able to tell if your power is what I think it is." Her mood brightened suddenly. "And if it aint, he'll be able to tell you why yer power aint settlin'. He is a master at magic, after all."

Clay looked between his teacher and the old man. Finally, he sighed, deciding to answer Master Fung's question. "The trainin' was goin' well for a while, there," he admitted. "I haven't made quicksand for a few months and I can walk anywhere I want, so long as I'm careful." The boy sighed suddenly.

"But…" Master Fung leaned closer.

"But I **have** t' be careful, elswise I'll trip and catch m'self, and the ground'll shake… an' every now 'n then I'll make a crack in the earth or make stones float in the air or som'n odd like that."

"That, and you uprooted a tree last week." His grandmother said quietly to herself, sipping her tea.

Clay blushed vividly at that. "Yes, but that doesn't happen too often…" he mumbled quietly, embarrassed.

Master Fung frowned slightly. "When exactly did your powers start revealing themselves?" he inquired, puzzled.

"They didn't 'start' revealing themselves," Deb answered for him. "They all up an' appeared at th' same time. There wasn't no 'start'."

This made the old man frown deeper. "Now that is odd. Usually there are certain… signs that an elemental has power before it shows up. The most powerful elementals have their abilities come suddenly, but I've never heard of NO signs before the actual event." He explained.

"Signs?" Clay asked.

"Often the signs have to do with the power, but not always. You could, perhaps, have a vision, or a dream where you had this power. But it could also be things like using your power in small dosages. A fire elementalist, for example, would be able to set small, highly flammable things on fire before actually being able to use flame magic. Water elementals might make it rain before their powers are revealed…"

"I crushed a rock in my hand right b'fore the earthquake thing. Do that count?" Clay wondered aloud.

"Perhaps," The old man said. "But what confuses me is the proximity between the two. If you experienced it 'right before' your powers officially showed up, it might mean the power had already shown up, and you just hadn't used it at that level until you were in danger."

Clay blinked at him, then turned to Debbie. She was sipping her tea, and was apparently paying no attention to the conversation. When she saw Clay looking at her, she shrugged. "Hey, don't yall look in my direction, I'm just a friend of his, not a translator," she sighed. "I don't get what he said exactly, either, y'know? That's why I'm not an expert in magic."

Nodding, Clay turned his attention back to Master Fung. "So… what're you sayin'?" he asked the master directly.

The man smiled, his blue eyes twinkling a bit in amusement. "Your power is different." He summed up.

"Yes, but is it different 'nough to be a Dragon's power?" Cousin Debbie asked.

At this, Master Fung frowned slightly. He seemed to be indecisive about something. Finally, after a few minutes, he sighed. "There is only one way to tell, I suppose," he said, not to any one in particular. He tapped a bulge in the pocket of his pants, making Clay blink. Was something moving in there?

His unasked question was answered after a minute. "Nnh, what?" a tired voice asked, making the Baily family look around in confusion; where had it come from? Out of the pocket, a small, snakelike creature popped its head up and blinked at the old man.

"Dojo, could you retrieve my bag? I left it in the front of the house." He told the creature.

The green animal blinked a few more times, then looked around the room. "So, when'd we arrive?" he asked with a yawn. He slithered—no wait, was he walking?—out of Master Fung's pocket, sniffed the air, and turned back to him. "I smell food." He said accusingly.

"You may have some after we are finished." Master Fung told it.

Clay stared (along with the rest of his family,) as the creature slid past. "Well I'll be," he said in amazement after the green reptilian creature exited the room. "A talkin' lizard?"

"That oughtta be the oddest thing I've seen in my days," Mr. Baily said in awe.

"Odder than a three horned bull takin' tap-dancin' lessons," Clay's mother agreed.

Debbie smirked, her eyes on Master Fung. "You should've given them somethin' of a warnin', Fung." She informed the man. "They aint never seen a dragon b'fore, even if he be a little bitty one."

Clay sat up in alarm. "A dragon?" he repeated.

"Broad as daylight," replied Cousin Debbie.

"But he's…"

"Small?"

"Gecko-like."

"You're right." Deb laughed. "Just don't tell **him **that."

"I won't." promised Clay.

* * *

The Dragon-gecko creature, Dojo, came back within a few minutes. He gave Master Fung his suitcase, and the master opened it up. He brought out a box, and asked to see Clay in a room privately, so Clay led him to a nearby room. Once inside, he closed the door behind them. Master Fung sat cross-legged on the floor, and after a moment of debating, Clay did as well. 

"This box contains twelve orbs." Master Fung informed Clay. "The test is simple: I open the box and allow you to see the orbs. You must choose the one you like best."

"That's it?"

"Yes, that is… 'it'." Master Fung nodded.

"I mean no disrespect, sir, but why'd we come all the way out here just for that?" Clay asked.

Master Fung set the box down on the floor between them. "The orbs call to those with elemental powers, Clay." He explained to the teen. "You have to focus to be able to pick the one you need to pick. The orb you choose will tell me what kind of power you have. If you are influenced by others, it does not work."

"aw, I'm sure they'd understand if you told 'em not t' talk," Clay said.

"They will be drawn to an orb of their own," Master Fung explained. "They will not be able to stop themselves from saying which orb they want you to choose, for they wish to choose it themselves."

Clay nodded. "I guess I understand." He said, eyeing the box. Through the stories that Cousin Debbie had told him, Clay knew that magic worked in strange ways. Although Clay didn't fully understand what Master Fung was talking about, it was probably best to trust his judgment.

"are you ready?" Asked the martial arts master.

Clay licked his lips and nodded, wondering what he'd gotten himself into.

Slowly, Master Fung reached forward and undid the latch that held the box's lid on. He lifted the wood to reveal as Master Fung had told him; twelve orbs. The orbs, however, were not quite what the cowboy was expecting. The glass ornaments boasted bright colors; some one solid color, others shifting back and forth between two, and one that was clear. Some shimmered, some did not. A few of them were about the size of a baseball, while one was as small as a marble.

Now which one was he supposed to pick?

The kid's blue eyes pierced the orbs, inspecting them one by one. Carefully, as not to touch any orb he was not supposed to, he reached a hand out over the box. He looked at each orb individually, considering it, and his hands strayed over the orbs, as though he was feeling for something that wasn't there.

After a moment, he sighed, leaning back on his heels. He closed his eyes, so he did not see Master Fung look at him with interest. Instead, Clay took a deep breath, and then another, and another…

Oddly enough, he felt like he was meditating. He did it every day, according to Deborah Rustad's instruction. Breathe in calmly, hold, breathe out. Simple motion that helped center the mind, the body, the spirit…

His spirit…

Behind his eyes, a green glow rose and fell. All he saw was the darkness and that green aura. A vinelike tendril from the green glow sprouted forward, reaching out in front of him. That was something that Deb had warned him about; The green glow was supposed to represent his magic. It was usually a little ball of light, an aura, and wasn't supposed to be vinelike. When the green magic reached out like it was doing now, it meant that he was about to use his power: the magic escaping the orb was like the magic escaping from Clay's own body. Using his power wasn't good, of course, but it was also preventable. All he had to do, when he was meditating, was reach out and grab the green tendril before it escaped. Clay did so now, hand chasing the magic. He grabbed it, and—!

'**oh, shoot…' **Clay thought. His hand closed around something hard, and his eyes snapped open. When seeing the vine of magic trying to escape, he had reached forward literally, and now his hand was clenched around a sparkling orb. Cringing, he lifted the hand up, still holding the orb he'd 'chosen'.

As he inspected it, though, the orb (a golf ball sized orange one,) started to change color. The orange, rusty color melted into a greenish one, and the glass began to shine brightly.

Across from him, Master Fung nodded, his eyes showing a mix of amusement and sadness. "Well done, Clay." He said. He motioned for Clay to put the orb back in its rightful spot, and Clay did so. Then, as Master Fung leaned forward to close the box, he paused. "I'm glad Deborah Rustad taught you to meditate. Otherwise we might have been here for a long time."

"You mean… that wasn't an accident?" Clay asked as the old man closed the lid on the box. Master Fung clasped the latch, and Clay tried to explain. "I was only tryin' to retract my magic, it escaped, and I reached forward t' stop it an' I grabbed…"

"You grabbed the orb your magic was going towards." Master Fung finished for him. "People all have their own aura, Clay. Some have theirs on the surface, others are hidden deep within them. If you had known right away which orb to choose, you probably wouldn't have had strong enough magic to be a Dragon. The harder it is to find your Aura, the deeper within you that your soul resides, the more magic you have." He explained.

"uh…" Clay paused. "What's that mean again?"

Master Fung looked at him squarely in the eyes, and stood, carrying the box. "You, Clay, have very powerful magic." He started. "It took you a long time to choose, so I know your power is very potent. Your orb turned green, meaning you have Earth elemental magic. And…" he paused. "Your orb shone brightly and was activated, meaning you are an elemental Dragon."

Clay stared up at him. After a moment, the boy sighed and looked at Master Fung's feet, taking a deep breath. He stood, shrugging. "And that means…"

"That is a question that you and your family will have to decide on." Master Fung said, and they left the room together.

* * *

"He passed," Master Fung told the group as they re-entered the family room. Deb, half expecting the result, sighed. 

"I'm sorry Clay." She said to him.

"What for? This aint your fault." He said back.

Mr. Baily looked at Master Fung. "So what does that mean?"

Master Fung set the box of orbs down onto the table with a sigh. "If Clay is a chosen Dragon, that means that it is probably best that he come with me to the temple to train and gain control over his powers." The old man started out. "But I do not wish to press you into anything you do not wish to do, either. Your choices are as follows: Clay either can stay at this ranch and continue with his training with Deborah Rustad, and he will not gain or lose more control than what he already has. Or he can come to the temple with me tomorrow morning, and stay until his powers are under control. This, however, means that he may be subject to rigorous around-year training and be put in life or death situations with protecting the temple and fighting evil. I realize this is a high price to ask of anyone Clay's age, but his help would be greatly appreciated at the Xiaolin Temple." He said, leading the family through the options.

A flash caught the corner of the cowboy's eye, and Clay looked over to where he'd seen it. whatever had caused it was gone, though, so Clay sighed and put his hands into his pockets, looking to his father. The older cowboy was deep in thought. The room was silent for a while, and then Mr. Baily looked up into his son's eyes. "if you want t' go, Clay, y' can. I aint stoppin' ya." He said to the blonde kid.

Now it was Clay's turn to think. He really wanted to go and get his powers under control (they were a major pain in the neck,) and fighting evil didn't bother him as much as he thought it would. But all that would mean leaving the ranch, leaving his family…

"I need some time to think about this." He told all of them.

Deb stepped up behind him and put a hand on the cowboy's broad shoulders. "It's ok," she informed her student. "Take as much time as you need." She turned to Master Fung. "We should leave these people alone for a while, Fung. Wanna bunk at my place?" she asked. The martial arts master stood and gathered the box of orbs, and the dragon, Dojo, got up from his spot at the couch. He'd been sitting there the entire time, while Clay and Master Fung had been in the other room. He slid over to where master Fung was and climbed up on the elderly man's shoulders. He took one last look behind him to Clay before they left, and grinned. "Nice to meetcha, Clay. Name's Dojo." He held out a clawed hand (foot, maybe?) and Clay shook it.

As he shook it, he blinked. "I'm shaking a dragon's hand," he commented out of nowhere.

Dojo smiled, flashing his small white teeth. "You know what?" he said. "So am I."

* * *

After they left, Clay walked into the room, and the first thing that met his eye was his sister. 

She was packing.

"Wha… Jesse, What are you doin'?" Clay asked, shocked. A tattered suitcase lay open on the bed, her most precious items set in it. a backpack lay to the side, containing necessities, such as food and water, and also what looked like her drawing books. He picked it up, inspecting it. "You goin' somewhere?" he asked, staring at his sister's sketchbooks. If she was heading out, Jesse was going to be gone for a long time; she always kept her drawings close.

Jesse came from the closet, dumping a pair of riding jeans into the beaten suitcase. She snatched away her backpack. "I'm leavin'." She informed her brother bitterly.

"Leaving?" Clay repeated.

Jesse nodded, her eyes not meeting her brother's. "I'm sick of this place, sicker than a soft ol' city girl after eatin' raw meat. B'sides, you aint gonna be here, so what do you care?" she spat, shoving another pair of jeans into the suitcase. On top of it went her second-favorite leather jacket, the one who's back sported the image of wings that were impressed into the leather.

Clay rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not so sure 'bout leavin' myself." He informed his sister, making her pause. She continued to pack, though. "Jess, what's gotten into ya? Yer just runnin' away from home?" Clay asked.

"Sharper than you look." Jesse grumbled, her words stinging Clay deeply.

"What's the point? What's possessed you?" he pressed, ignoring her hurtful words.

Jesse stopped on the spot, still glaring at the suitcase. She wouldn't meet Clay's eyes. Finally she seemed to find her voice. "You were always Ma an' Pa's favorite." She said, though her words were blunt and voice flat. "'oh, he's goin' somewhere, all right', 'm'boy', 'couldn't ask for better'. I have to listen to that Every. Single. Day. And now ye got yourself invited to some fancy martial arts thing, and Pa aint even puttin' up a fight. An' he **hates **martial arts. Sometimes I wonder if he'll ever stop thinkin' about you. Why should I stay and try to please them?" she asked. "You've always gone farther, you were destined to. You'll always be their favorite. I don't wanna stay an' try ter measure up to ya, Clay, I'd rather walk my own path."

Clay listened patiently, taking this all in. When she stopped, Jesse turned around to stare at his feet. At least she faced him, but Clay wished that his sister would just look him in the eye.

"And that path of yours would be…?" Clay asked, not making any protests… yet.

Jesse stuffed her hands into her pockets, a nasty frown spreading over her face. "Not bein' a cowgirl, that's fer sure." She answered.

"But ya gotta have SOMETHING in mind, Jess." Clay pressed.

Now uncomfortable, Jesse shifted and sighed. "I think I'll ride the country. You know how I love my motorcycle. I'll ride 'till I find my place. Mayhap I'll even get a pilot's license, cause you know that the only thing better than ridin' is flyin'." She smiled, glancing into his eyes momentarily. When she realized she'd just looked her brother in the eye, she hastily looked down again.

Clay looked at her, his eyes pleading. "Jess, are you absolutely sure about this? I mean, it's not like Ma an' Pa don't love you or nothin'… they're just a tad… absent minded, tha'ss all…"

Jesse shoved her hands into her pocket, gathering her courage. Then she looked straight into her brother's eyes. "I'm not doin' this cuz of them, ya hear? I'm doin' it for m'self. I'm followin' my heart." She stated, standing her ground. "An' you should too, bro. I know you think that goin' to this temple is the best thing, an' you're thinkin' about backing out just 'cause 'daddy might not like it'. Fah. Follow your own heart, Clay. Not his. Do things your own way." She patted him on the shoulder. "I know I am."

Clay opened his mouth, fully prepared to argue, but he hesitated. What Jesse was saying was insane, but in a way, it made sense. And he DID want to go to this… temple place. Cousin Debbie seemed to think it was the best thing, too.

And, although he couldn't figure out why, there was something about the old man's offer that was hard to resist…

As the cowboy stood, lost in thought, his sister slid around him and grabbed her gear. She turned to leave with it, and Clay, oddly, didn't stop her. She was nearly out the door when she stopped. Hesitating for a moment, she turned back to look at Clay. Finally she spoke up. "Go and ride into that sunrise, cowboy, and whatever lies beyond it." she ordered.

The siblings traded one last look before parting.

And the next morning, both Jesse and Clay were gone from the ranch.

-

* * *

- 

Well, long chapter, kinda. Hopefully, that will make up for the long time I've neglected this chapter. (hands out apollogy cookies to everyone) The middle-end and the ending were both a bit abstract, so I hope you followed me through it. and yes, Clay and Jesse both left the ranch, that's what the last line means. I know I'm not going to get the next chapter up for a few weeks, but keep reading, please? What's the point of a story that no one reads?

Anyway, I think I'll see you later. R&R!


	8. Burn Marks

Dragons will be Dragons 

After a long, drawn out period of frustration and creativity-deprivation, I ended up stuck. So I wrote (and posted) another quick XS fic-idea, and it got my creativity going somewhat, and because of that, I managed to get this chapter written. It's Kimiko's chap, once again… and the first time Clay meets her! Fun. Anyway, hope you enjoy, and sorry for the delay!

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* * *

Note!: Since Christy Hui currently owns XS and all its rights, it is by the simple law of physics impossible for me to own it as well. At leat, that's what I think... I was never very good at physics...

* * *

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**Ch. 8 burn marks**

"Gosh, it's awfully darn crowded, here, aint it? How can people live all smushed together like that?" Clay found himself asking as he stared upwards to the skyscrapers of Tokyo. He stopped, realizing he might have sounded a bit rude. "Not to be disrespectful or anything, Sir…"

Master Fung smiled at the cowboy. "Yes, I find myself wondering the same thing from time to time. Not to worry, though. The temple where I'm taking you is on an isolated mountain, very peaceful." He explained.

This made Clay stop. "Say, um, Master…?"

"Fung."

"Yes, Master Fung. Well, I was wonderin' why we're here, if this aint where the temple is…" he trailed off, looking around him at the skyscrapers of Tokyo.

Master Fung looked at him kindly. "Clay, please understand that you are not the only one having… changes… in your abilities." He said.

Clay caught on easily. "You mean someone else is movin' stuff around like they're fresh out of a fairy tale?"

"Yes," Master Fung nodded. "Like you, there are three other children who have awakened as Dragons. One, the dragon of water, already resides at the temple safely. There are two, however, who are out in the world. Both, like you, were found by friends of mine and taught to control their elements, but until they fully realize their power, it will not settle."

"You mean, until I get to the temple, I'll be shaking the earth every time I jump and land too hard." Clay interrupted, a touch of bitterness in his voice. A thought occurred to him that made him blink. "Same with these other two?"

"Yes." The monk replied.

Clay thought silently, turning the thought over in his mind. Finally he shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. "Well, where's this other dragon? We might as well get a move on. After all," he added in a much softer tone. "I wouldn't wish this on anyone."

The monk smiled at him. "I'm glad to hear it."

Clay looked around. "So we just get in, get the dragon… go to the temple? Seems easy enough."

"Oh, but there's one more thing you'll need to know…" Master Fung smiled. "She has a bit of a temper…"

-

* * *

- 

A tall man intercepted them at the door. "I take it you're Master Fung?" He asked, his eyes inspecting the older man. "You fit the description she gave me…"

"You must be Loki," replied the martial arts master. "Angela Kimiyasha speaks very highly of you."

Loki paused, blinking at the two of them. "Really? She does?" he asked, his mouth agape. He blinked a few more times before remembering his manners. "Ah, right… won't you come in? Kimiko Tohomiko is in the kitchen, I think… Oh, but she's a tad grumpy today, so I wouldn't suggest setting her off." Loki advised, standing aside to let them in. He closed the door behind them, taking one glance at his watch. "Sensei Kimiyasha should be here in an hour. She said she's got something to tie up at the Dojo where she works…" he trailed off, leading them down the hallway.

Clay, for one, couldn't get over the sheer SIZE of the place. The walls were at least twenty feet high in the area they were walking now, and through a couple archways he saw a multitude of staircases leading infinitely upwards. Truth be told, he had never been in a skyscraper before, or a city like this for that matter, but he had always assumed they were a little more like home, just with more floors.

Breaking out of his thought, he heard Loki and Master Fung talking, so he tuned in on the conversation. "So your temple, is it big?" the younger man asked.

"Very. And we do occasionally add onto the temple grounds, so it gets bigger all the time. You should drop by if you have the chance, it's very peaceful."

"What I wouldn't give for that," Loki agreed with a laugh. "Meditation is harder when you have to schedule it during rush hour traffic, and by the end you're more wound up than you are relaxed. I seriously should consider moving." He rubbed his nose in thought.

Master Fung smiled, a knowing glint in his eye. "Ah, yes, it is appealing, to do as your heart wishes, and find a more tranquil place. But is that what your heart truly wishes, or your mind?"

Loki looked upwards to the ceiling. "I honestly don't know." He admitted.

Suddenly, a loud crash was heard in the room ahead of them. Loki snapped alert, but relaxed when he heard a girl's voice calling out, "Ohmygosh, are you Ok, Aurora?"

"Y-yes, mistress," another, older voice answered. "It simply slipped, that's all…"

"You're just having a hard time adjusting, really," the first voice sighed. "It's all right, we aren't going to get upset over anything. You're doing fine!"

the group came around the corner, and Clay's eye spotted a young girl, about a year younger than him. She was briskly brushing some sort of yogurt or pudding off of another woman, wearing a maid's outfit. The maid looked distraught, while the girl had a very kind expression on her face.

"Why don't you take a rest for now? I'm sure I can get it myself. You can clean up, if you like," the girl smiled warmly.

The maid blushed and nodded. "Thank you mistress," she said, her face growing ever redder. "I think I'll do that." She turned around and walked out another door, just as the three newcomers were walking in.

The younger girl turned to grab a towel once the maid left. As she bent over to wipe up the pudding-like mess, she spotted the three newcomers. "Oh, Loki? What are you doing here? And who might you be?" she asked politely.

Loki rubbed the back of his head, indecisive. "Hello Kimiko. This is Master Fung and—it's Clay Baily, right?" he asked the younger male, who nodded. "Guys, this is Kimiko Tomohiko."

"Pleasure t' meetcha," Clay tipped his hat to the girl.

"Hello, Kimiko." Master Fung bowed to her.

Kimiko blinked up to the two of them with her piercing blue eyes. "Oh, I didn't know we were expecting company." She blushed. "Nice to meet you. Let me get this cleaned up, I'll go change…" she started talking to herself.

Loki held out a hand to stop her. "No, Kimiko, let's just let someone else take care of that. You should go get cleaned up too," he told her.

"I'm not some snobby rich kid who can't clean up once in a while. I just sent away Aurora to get some clean clothes on, and I can take care of this myself." Kimiko countered, ignoring him. "So anyway, why are they here? Is papa having a meeting with these two newcomers? He didn't tell me…" she trailed off, still wiping up the mess with the rag.

"They're not here for your father's business, actually. They're, Uh… well, let's… just ignore that for the time being." He said quickly, earning a suspicious glare from the girl.

Clay blinked. 'This is it?' he wondered. 'I thought they said she was in a bad mood and had a temper. She doesn't look too upset at all!' the boy thought to himself. 'if this is her 'bad mood', it doesn't seem to bad. I've seen my grandma throw worse fits. Then again, most grandmothers don't threaten to burn the house down when they don't get what they want… so I guess that aint a good comparison.'

Loki, on the other hand, watched the girl with a weary eye, inching closer to her as she wiped up the mess on the floor. He coughed, looking around. "So, um…" he started off. "How's the, uh, search for your father's new console going?"

At this, the girl snapped her eyes over to him, giving him a scathing glare. "Why? Are you trying to make something of it?" she asked dangerously. Loki opened his mouth to defend himself, but Kimiko just snapped the towel at him. "Look, JUST because I wasn't supposed to "Touch" it," she used air quotes for the word "touch", "Doesn't mean that it's my fault that I lost it!"

"Um, actually…" Loki rubbed his neck, but seeing the girl's eyes, he stepped backwards. "Ooh, what I mean is… er… I'm… just trying to make some small talk, you know?" he compensated quickly, before the girl started yelling at him again.

Kimiko snapped the towel at him again. "I'm sure," she said, her voice dangerously cool.

'ok, so maybe she as a LITTLE bit of a temper…' Clay corrected himself silently.

Loki glanced at the two, giving them a helpless and sympathetic shrug. They were silent as Kimiko finished up her task. Finally, she finished and dumped the towel into the sink, standing. "I'm going to go get changed," she informed the group, leaving. "Don't you dare tell my father about the console, either, Loki." She warned. After giving him a stern glare, she smiled. "Be back in a few!" she said cheerfully, turning on her heel and trotting down the hallway and through a different door.

"O…kiedokie…" Clay rubbed the back of his head. "Wasn't expecting that…"

"Yeah, I'll say," Loki sighed. "I was SURE she'd found it by now. I'm running out of things to tell Toshiro…"

-

* * *

- 

She came back in no time. Clay had to do a double-take, however, when she walked into the room. Instead of the thirteen-year-old girl he'd seen a few minutes earlier, he now saw someone COMPLETELY different. Sure, she had the same face, the same eyes… but her hair was now awash with bright orange colors and pinned up elaborately on her head. Her clothing was a match for her hair; orange of every color adorned her from the top of the vest to the short skirt to the socks to the soles of her shoes. Occasionally, a red or yellow color accented the orange, but overall, she was an eye-opening blaze. She was quite a thing to look at.

"Um, are you the same Kimiko that we saw b'fore?" Clay asked nervously, confused.

"Of course," the girl replied, giving him a sly grin. "Why do you ask?"

Clay tried to understand the question, leaving Kimiko to walk away. She made her way over to the nearby refrigerator, opening the door and sticking her head inside. "What anything?" She asked the newcomers.

"No, thank you anyway," Fung replied, holding up his hand.

Kimiko shrugged. "Suit yourself," she hummed, looking inside once more. She came out with a milk carton, checking her watch.

"So tell me," Master Fung started with a smile. "You are studying under Angela Kimiyasha as her pupil, correct?"

"Yeah, I guess…" Kimiko gave a shrug, pouring herself a glass of milk, she kept an eye on the old man as she put the carton away in the fridge.

"How goes your training?"

Kimiko paused at the question. "My training? It's…" she trailed off. "Good."

Master Fung smiled at her response. "Is it getting easier to control your powers?" he asked nonchalantly.

Kimiko nodded, picking up her milk as she began to speak. "Oh yeah, at the beginning it wouldn't even take a second to lose control, but now—hey!" she jumped, realizing the question he'd asked for the first time. "Wha… wha… how do you know about my powers?" she demanded.

"Your teacher told me about them in a letter," Master Fung answered, as though he was slightly surprised she didn't realize it.

"A letter." The girl repeated.

"Yes, a letter. My friend Angela mentioned that you were having a little trouble, and asked me to check out the situation."

Kimiko stared at the newcomers, feeling her temper rise. "I've got my powers under enough control, thank you, and I don't need more people rubbing my face in it." she gripped the glass of milk she was holding tightly. "Mistress Kimiyasha is doing well with me, and it's disrespectful to suggest otherwise!"

"Um, ya might want to let go of the glass, elsewise your milk'll curdle…" Clay said quietly. Kimiko looked down at the glass, now realizing that its contents were boiling under her hot grip.

"Heheh… oops…" she said, dropping the glass into the sink. It landed with a CRACK, the fall breaking the glass slightly. The boiling milk seeped from the hole and down the drain.

She turned to give the two a look. "Tha-that means nothing," she said quickly. "I just got upset there for a moment…"

Master Fung held up his hands. "I mean no disrespect to your sensei, she is one of my very close friends," he explained to the girl. "I am simply stating the facts; that she asked me to come and test your powers, to possibly see if you might be a dragon."

"A DRAGON?" Kimiko gasped. "There's a possibility of me being a… No! you're wrong. She **wouldn't **have done that. She **wouldn't **have told you about my powers." Kimiko stood by her earlier assertion, glaring at the old man.

"Are you sure?" he asked lightly in response. The question made Kimiko blink and take a disbelieving step backwards, as she reconsidered her thought. Her face hardened after a minute of thinking, though.

"I'll prove it!" Kimiko insisted, moving over to a nearby cabinet. Out of it, she pulled a large black electronic object. She angrily pressed some buttons, holding it with one hand. Clay wondered what it was until it made a strange noise—Brinnnngggg!

"Is that a phone?" he asked. It looked more like a mini TV screen to him.

Kimiko walked over to them. "it's a video-com, my dad made it," she boasted, setting the invention on the table. "Mistress Kimiyasha has one. She'll straighten things out!" she fumed, watching as the device rang again. There was no way that Mistress Kimiyasha would let these people just come in and tell her that she was a dragon—a DRAGON! Firstly, she WASN'T a dragon.

Secondly, Mistress Kimiyasha would've told her that these people were coming. Wouldn't she?

Halfway through the third ring, the screen snapped to life, giving off a blue-ish color. It was replaced by her sensei's face. "Hello, Kimiko," the woman said brightly. "Are you calling because I'm late? I'm in my car right now, so I'll be there soon. Don't worry." She assured the kid.

"No, that's not it!" Kimiko said. She pointed behind her to Master Fung. "This guy came in here and said you asked him to come and test my power!"

"Oh, they arrived sooner than I thought they would," her sensei chirped on the screen, making Kimiko's jaw drop.

"You mean they're telling the truth?" she asked, nearly pulling her hair out of her head in annoyance. They'd been right all along!

Mistress Kimiyasha nodded. "That's right," she said, serious. "Once I arrive, he and I will talk about giving you a test to see if you're truly a dragon or not." She explained, shrugging. "Most likely, it won't be too hard, though."

Kimiko narrowed her eyes at her teacher. Well, that explained why the old man was here. But… wait… "H-hey, what about the kid?" she asked, looking at Clay.

"Kid?" Kimiyasha's face screwed up in confusion. "I wasn't told about any kid…"

"Ah, it's the dragon of earth," Master Fung spoke to the image of Angela Kimiyasha on the screen. He said it easily, but the words made the woman flinch.

"What?" she asked. "Old friend, don't tell me that this boy is the Dragon of Earth!" she exclaimed, but Master Fung only nodded, making the woman sigh. "If he's the dragon of earth, that means that the dragons really ARE awakening." She summed up, and Master Fung nodded again. "It means that Kimiko has a fair chance of passing the Dragon's test… if one dragon's awakened, the other three are as well, correct?"

"Yes," Master Fung agreed. "Though Clay is not the first dragon. Omi, a child who lives at the temple currently, was the first to awaken."

"I see," said the woman, looking a little worried. "I'll be there soon, all right?" she said, more to Kimiko than to Master Fung. Without waiting for an answer, the screen went dark.

-

* * *

- 

Loki, in the meantime, had found his way upstairs to talk with his friend and boss, Toshiro Tomohiko. The man was busy scouring the room for his lost game console, talking rapidly with Loki.

"I mean, it seems to have disappeared into thin air, has it not?" the Japanese CEO asked when his friend walked into the room.

Loki stopped. "What has?"

"My game console." The CEO replied, "You know, I could've sworn that the last place I put it was right here," he pointed to an empty spot on a cabinet.

"Ah…" Loki bit his lip momentarily. Now would probably be a good time to change the subject… "Maybe. But boss, I just came to tell you… we've got visitors."

The words that Loki spoke made Toshiro look up for a moment. "Visitors?"

"They're for Kimiko, of course, or I would have told you sooner," Loki assured him. "Her teacher, Angela Kimiyasha, invited them over. But sir…" he paused. "This could be a big problem."

"Why do you say that?" The Japanese man asked. "Surely if they are guests of Kimiyasha-san, then they are trustworthy?"

"Of course they are," Loki agreed. "But… Angela invited them to… have a look at Kimiko."

Toshiro looked up. "And that means…?"

Loki gave a sigh. "I have to be frank with you, Toshiro. Kimiko's powers are not settling as we had hoped. She's still… jumpy. We think that there's something more to her power than meets the eye. One of the newcomers is well traversed in magic, and might be able to spot the problem. But…" he paused, scuffing the floor with his foot. "If the problem is what we **think **it is, then Kimiko might need to be sent to… a monastery in China to keep her fire powers under control."

This news actually unsettled the man into stopping his search for his missing console. "Does Kimiko know of this?" he asked after a moment.

"By now, she might," Loki gave another shrug. "The point is, when Angela Kimiyasha comes, she and Master Fung will have to all get together and talk about your daughter's future." He explained. "I thought you'd like a heads-up, you know, in case you wanted to join the conversation."

Mr. Tomohiko opened his mouth to speak, but at that precise moment, the intercom crackled over on the speaker of the CEO's desk. "Mr. Tomohiko, there is a woman requesting entry." The voice informed them.

"It's my guess that the person who is at the door is Kimiyasha-san?" the CEO asked.

"I suppose," Loki gave another shrug. "Shall we go meet her?"

"Yes." The Japanese man stood. "We should."

-

* * *

- 

When Angela Kimiyasha met Toshiro Tomohiko at the door, she took one look at his face and knew she'd have to tell him everything. She walked through the door, giving him and Loki a smile, taking a deep breath. "I suppose you know already?" she asked, looking between the two men who'd come to greet her.

"About Kimiko leaving for china?" Kimiko's father asked.

Angela sighed. "We don't know that for _sure."_ She said kindly. "It's just very… likely that this is the path for her."

Slowly, Toshiro nodded. He began to walk with her to the kitchen, where Loki had said that Kimiko was. "Do you approve of this path?" he asked the martial arts master.

Smiling, Kimiyasha shrugged. "The temple is owned by a good friend of mine, so I trust him. And she will not be the only young one there," she added, remembering the teen that she'd seen when Kimiko had called her earlier. "It would be a good way to settle her powers and she would learn so much more than she could under my guidance."

Again, Toshiro Tohomiko nodded. When he didn't speak, Mistress Kimiyasha went on. "It may be a dangerous path, however. The temple is said to promote mystical powers, which sometimes attracts… as cliché as it sounds… evil forces." The woman shrugged again. "But Kimiko is a strong girl, and I know that my friend, Fung, would not put her to anything that she was not ready for."

The CEO nodded again, and his silence was worrying the woman. She turned to him. "I know this is going to be hard to let go of your daughter, but if this is the path that she chooses, then you must respect that. She is her own self, and cannot be controlled by others. You, of all people, should know that."

Slightly surprised by Angela's remark, Toshiro looked at her through his glasses. "You misunderstand," he commented at last. "I intend to let her do as she desires. I respect her judgment, and I respect yours as well. if you believe this is good for my daughter, then I have no right to step in."

A moment passed, and Kimiyasha smiled once more. "Yes." She said, glad they could agree on something this important.

The two turned to see they were about to enter the kitchen. Sure enough, at the doorway, two strangers stood. One, a teen dressed in strangely-western-themed style, and another, a balding man who wore ancient style robes.

Kimiko, on the other side of the kitchen, turned to see the group walk in. Her face lit up when she saw her father, and frowned slightly in thought when she saw Loki and Angela. She too seemed to know what her fate would be.

Master Fung turned, seeing the three as well. "Ah, Angela. You have arrived." The comment made Clay turn to see.

Then, something unexpected happened. Not seeing the suitcase that sat beside Master Fung's feet, the still-walking Toshiro Tohomiko walked straight into it. The thing was heavy, with all those crystals in it, so the man tripped. Clay threw out a hand to keep him from falling, but he couldn't stop the suitcase from falling over and snapping open. Unfortunately, the orbs that were inside rolled out of the carrying case and over the floor.

"Oh no, not again!" Kimiko yelped, leaning over to find the fallen things. "Today must be a bad day for working in the kitchen. Everything's been spilling! Here, I'll help…!" she reached out to pick up one of the orbs, but paused, and brought her hand back sharply, surprised. "Wh-what's that?" she grimaced and inched away from the orb. "it's really cold."

Master Fung sighed, looking at how far the orbs had rolled. "Don't worry, I've got them," he said. He held his hand up and made a pinching motion in the air, and pulled his hand towards him.

Oddly enough, the orbs reacted. They started to slow and reverse their roll, slowly coming back to their owner. Mr. Tohomiko blinked at the strange magic, and Angela Kimiyasha frowned at such blatant use of it. Even so, it did get the job done. All the orbs hopped back into their places in the suitcase.

Master Fung frowned. There were supposed to be twelve orbs, yet he'd only managed to call eleven of them back to him. He counted them, and realized which one was missing. With a smile, he looked over to Kimiko. The girl was looking curiously under a table.

"Hey, I think you missed one," she called. "I thought I saw one here just a moment ago, but…" she trailed off.

"Oh, do not worry, young one," the master said. "I guess I will just have to settle with one absent from my collection," he said. Mistress Kimiyasha blinked at him, hard. She looked about to protest when she saw her friend's face; there was a knowing look spread across Master Fung's features.

Kimiko looked up. "But you haven't even searched for it!" she exclaimed, surprised.

"I do not think I will find that orb." Master Fung stood. "Do not bother with looking for it yourself, please. I would hate to waste your time… I doubt you could find it, either."

The comment made Kimiko growl in her throat, but she said nothing.

"What are you-!" Angela began, but Master Fung grabbed her arm.

"We have business, have we not?" he asked.

Angela Kimiyasha blinked at him. "I suppose we do," she said slowly, not catching on to what Master Fung wanted.

Fung smiled. "We'll just leave them here while we talk, there's no need to drag them along," the man smiled, motioning to the three. "We should talk in private.

Clay watched as the two adults talked. It was obvious that the woman had no idea what Master Fung was talking about. He himself was curious; hadn't Master Fung said the orbs were one of a kind? And yet, he was just leaving it there? There had to be some reason…

Slowly, Kimiyasha sighed. "Yes. I think we should talk in private." She agreed, looking at Toshiro Tohomiko. "I'm sorry if we'll have to cut this short, I have to talk with my old friend." She explained.

"Go right ahead," the elder man replied. "I must get back to my programming. I seem to have lost my console I've been working on, and I should find it." he said to himself, and Kimiko cringed. "Loki, you haven't happened to see it, have you?" he asked his body guard, who stiffened as the proverbial spotlight was turned on him.

"Ah, um…" he began, rubbing the back of his neck. A smile slowly spread across his face. "Actually, I have a weird feeling I saw it in the conference room," he told his boss quickly.

"Oh, good, then I'll start there. I'll call you if I need you," he smiled and left. Kimiko's teacher, Angela Kimiyasha, and Clay's new teacher, Master Fung, left after him to talk privately.

Once they were gone, Kimiko glared at Loki. "You saw it in the conference room?" she snapped. "Why didn't you TELL me?"

"Because I DIDN'T!" he snapped back. "I'm just buying you some time! You can look for it faster, and he won't suspect that YOU lost it!"

Kimiko opened her mouth to protest, but she closed it slowly. "I'll look for it in just a moment," she said, getting on her hands and knees again. She pushed herself beneath the low table, surprised at how dusty it was under there.

"What are you doing now?" Loki groaned, watching the thirteen-year-old.

The female sneezed, dust from beneath the table billowing up at the sudden movement. "I'm looking for that orb thing." She said. "I'm sure it was under here SOMEWHERE."

Loki blinked hard at her. "What? No! get upstairs and start looking for that game console you lost! Before your dad skins my hide!"

"If I can't find some stupid orb, how am I supposed to find that console?" she asked back.

Opening his mouth to explain, Loki stopped. She did have a point. But what was so important about finding an orb? It probably wasn't worth as much as the lost game console, and the old man didn't even seem to be broken up about losing it, while her father would probably ground her if he found out Kimiko lost his merchandise that he had specifically ordered her NOT to touch. What was the big deal?

"I'm going to find it," she said calmly. "I'm going to find that orb. And then, I'll find the Console, no problem." The girl sneezed again at the dust underneath the table. She hardened her resolve, and concentrated. She WOULD find it.

-

* * *

- 

Eventually.

now, half an hour later, Kimiko had checked under the bookshelf that held cookbooks, inside the bottom shelves where they kept the pans, beneath the chairs that sat at the island countertop that sat at the center of the kitchen, behind the refrigerator, and under the kitchen sink.

"Maybe yall should just give up?" Clay asked slowly, not wanting to anger her. "Master Fung didn't seem too broken up about loosin' it, so…"

"That's what **I **said, but she didn't listen to me before…" Loki said in a low voice.

"I'll find it!" she snapped. "I WILL!"

"Ssssuuurrrreee you will." Loki drawled, turning. "I'm going to go see if Toshiro needs anything." He said.

Kimiko gave him an I-don't-believe-you look before bending down and crawling back underneath the table. Curious, Clay came by her and kneeled on the ground. "What's so important about finding that orb in the first place?" he asked.

"If I can't find it, then I'm just a stupid little girl who's only talents are throwing temper-tantrums, talking on cell phones, and losing things!" she snapped back. Clay sighed as she rustled around under the table, sneezing once or twice. She spoke again, her voice far less angry and much more genuine. "And no offence, but your master is wrong. He doesn't have any right to tell me what I can or can't do."

Clay sighed, sitting back on his heels. So this wasn't about helping out Master Fung, it was just a matter of the girl's pride. "Well, gettin' yourself worked up won't help any," he infirmed her. "Just… just take a deep breath and close yer eyes. It can't hurt any, can it?"

The girl sighed and did as she was told. She crossed her arms and set her head down on them, breathing deep. He was right, she'd never find the dumb thing if she was getting so worked up! She'd probably already seen it and missed it once. Closing her eyes, she drew the darkness around her inwards.

She felt calmer than she had in weeks. Whoever this Cowboy-kid was, he sure seemed to know what he was doing. She took several deep breaths, calming herself.

Something flickered at the corner of her mind, irritating her. It was so sudden, she almost lost her inner calm. There was a bright red pulsing light in front of her somewhere. She swatted it away, not wanting it to bother her. It came back, however, still strong. Up and to the left? Yeah, that's where it was coming from.

It seemed like such a real light. was it? Mistress Kimiyasha had told her that she had magic that was red in color, but she'd never seen it for herself. No, this was probably just some red light blinking at her. She opened her eyes to look for the source. At first, she didn't see any red light in the darkness, so she closed her eyes again. Immediately she saw it, and reached out to snatch it.

It wasn't a toy, that's for sure. Whatever was making that red glowy-light thing was very… smooth. It was also warm to the touch. She pulled out from underneath the table to get a better look at it.

Opening her hand, she blinked. "Wha?" she stared at the object in her hand. "Hey, it's that orb! I thought it was one of papa's inventions." She told Clay. "It was blinking red like crazy."

Clay stared at the orb, his mouth hanging open in disbelief. Suddenly, the orb shown brightly, momentarily blinding the children. In her surprise, Kimiko dropped the orb.

The jewel rolled its way over to the door, and was stopped at the doorway to the kitchen by a slippered foot.

"Hello, there," the foot's owner, Master Fung, said to the two children. "You finally found the orb, I see."

Kimiko stuck her jaw out stubbornly. "See? I **told **you I could find it." she daunted.

Beside Master Fung, Angela Kimiyasha looked to the side. "Um, Kimiko," she said softly. "That… that was the test to see if you were an elemental dragon." She said. "You… you found the orb, that means you passed."

Kimiko's jaw dropped. "I…! I…!" she looked at Clay for some explanation. The boy simply shrugged. "Well, it was easy enough, since it was where I thought it would be, and it was giving off that blinking red light…"

"That 'red light' was your magic," Master Fung informed her. "It wasn't actually visible to the naked eye."

"I'm sorry," Mistress Kimiyasha sighed and looked down, tucking a strand of her short black hair behind her ear.

Kimiko looked at her sensei, then to Master Fung. Slowly, she stood and brushed herself off, sighing mentally. "For what?" she asked Angela. "You shouldn't apologize when you're not at fault."

The woman looked into Kimiko's piercing blue eyes. After a moment, she spoke. "Did I ever tell you what it means to be a dragon? A human Dragon?" she asked.

"Not really," admitted the girl.

Kimiyasha stepped forward, grabbing a chair and sitting in it. "It means you'll have to live at a remote temple, cut off from most of the world. You train every morning as a monk of that temple, preparing to protect the temple or whatever may be inside of it. Usually, an official 'dragon' protects these mystic objects—Shen Gong Wu, as I have told you before." The woman explained slowly. "You may have to risk your life to protect it, and it's a huge responsibility. And training starts usually at five in the morning. I know you aren't a heavy sleeper, but I also know you DO like your beauty sleep, so…"

Kimiko shrugged after hearing the explanation. "So are there any pros to that arrangement?"

"Fond memories, a sense of pride and accomplishment, not having evil take over the world…" she listed, but saw Kimiko scrunch up her nose at the thought, and smirked. "Free meals, new friends, peace and quiet, tip-top body shape, round-world trips, vacations whenever you can score one, and you get to tamper with magical artifacts." She finished.

"Ok, THAT part sounded fun." The Japanese girl admitted.

Angela Kimiyasha tapped her fingers together in thought. "You'd also gain complete control over your element, instead of having such problems with it…" she added after a moment of contemplation.

"I would?" Kimiko looked forward, genuinely interested for the first time in that conversation. "Now that sounds like something I could live with."

"It's your choice whether or not to go with him. You know the stakes," the woman said, looking at Kimiko through half-lidded eyes. "It is your choice, and only your choice, that can bring this to a conclusion. No one is forcing you to go, either. You can stay in Japan. Have a little problem with your powers, yes… but you can stay. It is up to you."

Kimiko sat back on her heels, thinking. She could stay, or she could go. She could put up with her training here, or get harder, more intense training with this man and the boy whom she'd just met. She could have her freedom, or she could be weighted down with the responsibility of protecting the world. She could stay and be close to her friends, her technology, and her father that she knew all too well, or she could take the leap into the unknown, into oblivion at the heart of China. She could keep things as they were, or let them change by the hands of fate.

But things could never go back to the way they WERE, could they? Never back to the carefree, magic-less girl who enjoyed all the things she had, without worrying about blowing it up.

She would never be able to go back to that.

"I'll have to ask Papa," Kimiko said slowly.

-

* * *

- 

He agreed, of course.

Kimiko offered to put Master Fung and Clay up into the guest rooms for the night, secretly hoping they'd accept so she'd have a good long while to say goodbye to the home she knew. Goodbye to always being connected to the chat rooms, goodbye to all her phone time with Keiko, goodbye to her nice, soft, comfortable bed—she'd learned that Xiaolin Monks slept on mats.

Not. Cool.

But, mostly, it was goodbye to herself. To the old Kimiko she was leaving behind. Sure, it was the Kimiko who could never control her temper, her powers, or even herself, but it was also the Kimiko who's father read bedtime stories to her once a week, the Kimiko who broke an arm and a leg when railing-surfing down three stories, the Kimiko who graffitied Tokyo Tower head to toe with silly string just to see if she could. Leaving home meant leaving her child-side behind, though it would take a while to get rid of it. (Her child side still clung to her, like a Chihuahua to a medium-rare steak.)

She knew that somehow, she was going to grow up, and then she'd never do any of that stuff ever again.

Ok, so maybe the railing-surfing wasn't quite out of an adult's league, but…

…

She would definitely miss it.

Her home, her friends, her papa…

The door creaked, her sensei was standing in the doorway. She knocked lightly. "May I come in?" she inquired.

There was a moment of silence. Kimiko took a deep breath, tugging at her hair. "How will I do it?" she asked, not answering the question her teacher had asked her.

Hesitating, Angela Kimiyasha stepped into the girl's room and put a hand around her shoulders. "How will you do… what? Leave?"

Kimiko shook her head. "No, not leave—Grow up. How will I ever grow up?"

Mistress Kimiyasha hesitated, not expecting the question. Slowly, she turned to give Kimiko a hug around her shoulders. "You know, I suspect…" she said slowly, making the girl look at her.

"I suspect you've done some growing up already."

-

* * *

- 

Hey, that warm-up whittle I wrote, "First Blessing", really kinda worked! I managed to get back in the groove for this piece. Remember; there's two more chapters left before it ends! Almost there!

But in the spirit of here-and-now, Thank you for reading Kimiko's chapter. I really hope I kept her in character. Let me know how I did in a **review! **(cough) On the other, completely off-topic hand, has anyone heard anything about there being a fourth season, or is all of that just plain baloney?

Well, Till next chapter, see ya!


	9. Prevailing Winds

:Murders the Computer:

How can it _possibly _be this hard to get a chapter up? It didn't even have end like the other two previous chapters, and I still couldn't write on it forever:Smacks forehead: I think the computer screen saps out my intelligence and creativity when I use it. For the record, I blame Bill Gates.

But alas, I digress. This chapter is up. Ch. Nine. One more chapter to go, and I'm done with the story! Notice; the 10th chapter will be significantly shorter than the rest. So… it'll be fine. (This chapter was 26 pages in Word!...). Maybe the length makes up for how long I haven't updated…

Anyway, picking up from where I left off, I send you my brain. Read! And review:waves ecstatically:.

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To quote **feather.rai**, "I don't own XS, but if I did, I would sell it to me! O.o. . ."

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Ch. 9 prevailing winds

It was almost an entire year after Raimundo had become his student, and Skye could not believe how far the boy had come. His fighting skills had improved from day one, and he could fly willingly now (though he didn't do it often, as it took way too much power to do so,) and he was now annoyingly good at chess.

And as Skye had promised, he spoiled the kids horribly. Whenever they wanted something they got it. Vince kept his old job at the construction site, feeling strange to use Skye's money, but David had immediately quit in search of a better job. The job he held before hadn't paid well and was potentially dangerous, but now that he was in another's care, there was nothing stopping him from stepping back and taking his time about finding a new job. Rachel got a new job as well—at the restaurant Rai used to work at. Rai could no longer work there; his schedule was pretty demanding the first two weeks with Skye, learning fighting and getting into shape… so that was reason enough to quit the job. Surprisingly, though, he didn't have to—not only did missing a whole week after his falling-off-the-cliff stunt make the owner fire him, word had also gotten around about Rai's wind powers. Rumors spread through the town like wildfire, and soon everyone was treating Raimundo like he had the plague. At times, when he was alone, Rai could hear conversations carried on the wind—many were about him, and he hated it.

The gossip died down after a few months, but soon the villager's awed looks turned into avoidance. If Rai was walking down the street, sometimes shops would close or people would scurry out of the way. Rai began pulling pranks to get noticed, much to his brother's and sister's annoyance. But it did get him attention, so not even their disapproval could make him quit. He was finally getting attention, after all, and Rai was always a very social person. There was no way a little odd power was going to put him off.

But that was just the problem, Skye began to think. Raimundo's power wouldn't settle, and it stayed noticeable. Even though the kid had improved greatly since coming to his care, Skye couldn't help but to notice that there were random spikes in his power that couldn't be controlled. The wind-voices were one example—Rai had broken down and asked him what they were just a month ago. Another was how the wind always seemed to pick up whenever he was around, and a third; he attracted lightning, wind's sister element. There were other problems, too many to name, but all these problems kept up at a steady pace, making the man worry. That thought had led him to sending a letter to his old friend, now a master at the temple he and two others had studied in. Unlike Skye, he was well traversed in the ways of magic, and could probably help Rai in controlling his power.

Not to mention that, since Rai's power wasn't settling down, it indicated that he was one of the four chosen dragons…

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"So… where're we goin'?" Clay asked, looking at Master Fung. They'd just got off a long, _long _plane ride from Japan to Brazil, and were making their way down the airport terminal. Clay noticed Kimiko tug at her shirt's collar, and sighed; the girl was obviously not used to the tropical-like heat.

The older man smiled lightly. "An old friend of mine said he'd pick us up at the airport," he replied lightly, looking around.

"Meaning… we're not going anywhere for a while." Kimiko summed up. The girl rubbed her forehead, not liking the heat. She wondered if she should pull her hair up into a ponytail or something. The high temperature was making her feel very cross.

"He DOES have a tendency to be late," Master Fung agreed, making both Kimiko and Clay groan.

Clay leaned back on his heels, looking around. "Say, what's this old friend of yers look like?" he asked. "They as old as Cousin Debbie?"

"Great," Kimiko mumbled to herself. "One old person I can handle—two? I'm not so sure." She wasn't the best at handling senior citizens, as she had no grandparents to speak of, and the only reason she felt she could be around Master Fung was because he didn't ACT like he was an old fuddy-duddy. Frankly, whenever there was someone older than fifty-five around, she didn't know how to handle them at all, and felt completely out of place.

"Don't worry, Kimiko," Master Fung assured. "You may find that he's right up your alley."

Kimiko tapped her foot at the assumption, but held her own. What had he meant by that? A thought occurred to her. "So… Mistress Kimiyasha said that you and she were friends. So you're… what? Her teacher?"

Master Fung blinked at the question, mildly surprised. "Oh no, Kimiko, Angela was one of my peers."

It took a moment for this thought to sink in. when it did, Kimiko exploded, nearly losing control of her powers. "What?! She's not that old!" she snapped, and immediately covered her mouth after.

"She's aged well," Fung gave a shrug of agreement. "She's actually fifty-two."

"Whaaattt?" Kimiko shrieked again. "She doesn't look a **day **over thirty!"

Master Fung shrugged. "She's aged well," he repeated.

Kimiko was at a loss for words, managing only to give Master Fung a disbelieving stare. While she was pre-occupied, Master Fung turned to Clay. "Well, to answer your question, young one," he began, "Skye Pedrosa is a head taller than you are, with black hair and grey-green eyes." He answered the Dragon of Earth's earlier question.

With a nod, Clay turned to look around the airport. "Does he drive a car or anythin'?" he asked, looking outside of the big windows of the airport.

"I cannot be sure," Master Fung replied.

"Come now," a voice said behind them, and the three turned to look. A man, seemingly in his early thirties, was approaching them. He had black hair and grey-green eyes, which looked upon them with amusement. "You know me, Fung, I'm not _that _stingy with my money… of course I have a car!" he teased.

Fung let a smile form on his lips. "And of course, you are late as usual, my friend."

Kimiko blinked at him. "This is the guy? He doesn't look too old," she commented, then bit her tongue. Darn this heat! It was making her be rude!

"Skye Pedrosa, at your service," the man offered his hand. As Kimiko shook it shyly, he added, "I know I don't look old. Just to be clear, I'm forty five." He told her, making her jaw drop.

Skye ignored the girl's agape jaw and turned to Clay, looking him over. "Lemme guess," he said dryly. "You're a full-fledged Texan?"

"Pleasure," Clay tipped his hat politely.

"Same here." Skye nodded, and looked the boy over. Suddenly he frowned, then turned to Master Fung. "You didn't tell me there were others," he pointed out quietly.

The old man shrugged. "I simply did not wish to make you worried," he said lightly. "This is Kimiko Tomohiko, and this is Clay Baily." He motioned to each of the children in turn.

Skye paused. "And they're…"

"Fire and Earth." The answer made Skye wince visibly. To add to the younger man's discomfort, Fung kept talking. "The Water dragon, Omi, resides at the temple. We are only missing one—" he paused, looking at Skye, a calm expression on his face as he watched his old friend cross his arms.

"And of course Wind's the only one left," the man muttered quietly to himself. His eyes went out of focus for a moment, and his face grew sour. After a moment of brooding, the man gave a shrug, then turned to his 'guests'. "So anyway," he changed moods, making Clay blink. "Shall we go?"

"Ah, yessir," Clay nodded, following the man.

Kimiko jogged to catch up. "So this car of yours," she started. "Does it have air conditioning?"

Skye smiled. "I do believe it does," he said.

"Good," Kimiko fanned herself. "Sorry, but it's just _way _too hot here."

The man looked up, seemingly surprised. "Well, today's sort of hot, I guess," he agreed. "We've seen worse, though. We're just in the middle of a drought, that's all." Turning to the cowboy, Skye's eyebrows kicked up. "You seem to be doing well, though," he commented.

Clay shrugged. "I've been in places hotter 'n this, too."

Skye shrugged. "At least it isn't humid." He muttered. They approached a car, and he smiled. "Ah, here we are."

Kimiko's eyes widened at the sight. They were standing in front of a pure black Porsche. "This is your car?" she asked. When the man nodded, she squealed. "All _right!" _she pumped her fist in the air.

"Um," Clay paused, eyeing the car. "Are you sure you want us in there? What if we ruin the seats or som'n'?" he asked.

Skye shrugged. "Don't worry. The inside's pretty much a mess." He motioned for them to get in, taking the few bags they had along and putting them in the back 'trunk', even though Clay had to wonder how much stuff could really fit in such a tiny space…

Slowly, he climbed in, followed by Master Fung. Kimiko crawled into the front seat, completely at home in the luxurious car. She snapped the seat buckle across her body, then attempted to change the radio. She only got static, which made her sigh.

Their escort slid into the driver's seat. "Sorry about the radio," he said. "It hasn't been working lately."

Master Fung looked around where he sat, raising an eyebrow. "Such an expensive car," he commented lightly, making the man blush.

"You know I've never been a penny pincher," he scolded lightly, still blushing. "Besides, I do have other cars—If I'd known that I would have three passengers instead of one, I would've brought the minivan."

Fung's eyebrows kicked up. "Minivan?" he repeated. "This car, I can see you driving. But a _minivan?" _

Skye paused. "Um, you do know I have kids now, right?" he asked.

The older man smiled. "So you finally found the woman for you, then."

Kimiko blinked as Skye shook his head 'no', and started the car. "I haven't found the one that's right for me," he mumbled under his breath as the air conditioning started up. Slowly, he backed out, exiting the parking lot.

The Japanese girl blinked. "You have kids, but no wife?" she asked, thinking. It reminded her a lot of her father…

"Eight children, to be exact," he told her, and her eyes went wide. "Don't look at me like that. They're… just living with me. They aren't my flesh and blood. Think of me as their stepfather."

Master Fung started in again, as the car began to pick up speed. "So tell me, Skye," he said. "Is this child—Raimundo, as you called him in your letter—is he one of the children staying with you?"

"Indeed he is," hummed Skye as he turned onto a new road. He hesitated as he checked his rear-view mirrors, then sighed. "But… I have to warn you. He's been rather erratic lately. His powers aren't… they aren't…" he fell silent.

"Settling down." Master Fung completed for him.

Without speaking, Skye just nodded. "I just wanted to give you a heads up, and apologize for his behavior beforehand. He'll seem a bit… _jumpy_ to you."

Master Fung closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. He hadn't even met the child yet, and he was almost positive that he had another dragon-child on his hands. And knowing Skye, if he said that Raimundo was jumpy, it probably meant that the child was a bomb waiting to explode.

Not to mention, the appearance of the children made him worry. The dragons only appeared when it was absolutely necessary, when the balance between good and evil was about to shift. Since these kids showed up, that foretold something far worse was coming…

With a sigh, the man sat back. It was going to be a _long _day.

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Once the car approached the house, the children had to gape. The Car pulled into the driveway, which actually reminded Kimiko more of a four-lane highway than a blacktop. A four-car garage and a basketball net completed the set nicely.

"Are you from America?" she had to ask. She was always told that people from America were rich, and liked big, fancy houses. This Mansion, almost as big as her own, gave off that impression. And it wasn't like the other houses around, more like the ones she'd seen in photos her father'd taken when he went on business trips across the pacific.

Skye chuckled. "Actually, I'm British, but I spent a large amount of time in America," he admitted. "Lost my accent. Gained some exotic—and expensive—tastes. Fair trade, in my opinion." He said, exiting the car.

Everyone followed his lead. Skye retrieved the few bags he'd stolen from them before the trip and then motioned for them to follow. He walked to the side, on a stone pathway to the door.

Clay followed, being careful to not walk too fast. He didn't want to set off the nicely-laid stone, and with how out of place he felt in this strange country, he was likely to lose control a bit. Still, his mind was clear as he looked around. The front of the house was practically a flower garden, and the house was (much to his shock,) a full five stories tall.

"Is this really a _house?" _he asked.

Skye shook his head with a smile. "No, it's a barn. I just fixed it up. And Now I've got animals living in it, so there isn't much of a difference." Clay couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

"It's… uh… big."

The man gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry if it makes you uncomfortable. It's just, I can't really bring myself to settle anywhere unless I can find everything I need. Plus, I have a lot of things from when I was a world traveler… You could say I'm something of a pack-rat."

"Understatement," Fung muttered quietly under his breath, but Kimiko caught it and smirked.

With some difficulty (due to he was holding four bags,) Skye managed to ring the doorbell. It was answered a few seconds later, by a young girl. She carried a big teddy bear in her hands.

"Hi," she said shyly, noticing that Skye wasn't alone.

The man smiled. "Hello, Mai," he said warmly. "Is Rai home?"

"Rai's being stupid," she told him innocently, making Skye wince.

"Oh dear…" he muttered, walking in. "Who told you that?"

the girl eyed the newcomers warily, then looked at Skye. "Matt _said _so." She insisted. "Matt said "He's being stupid.""

"Why would he say that? And where is he?" Skye set down the bags, turning to the girl.

Mai pointed down the hallway, to the next room. "He's lining up all of us, and Matt wants to play. Is it gonna rain?" she asked suddenly, not making any apparent sense.

Skye frowned, then looked at his guests. "Come on in," he motioned, his voice sounding tired. "I'll introduce you to my student… if he hasn't gone insane by now…"

He turned, and they followed him. Mai crept behind the group, not wanting to be seen. Kimiko thought it was rather cute, but said nothing as she walked in the next room.

Her eyes were greeted with three children. Two, a young boy and girl, sulked in the corner of the room. Mai quickly joined them, watching the third child. The third child was taller, and had brown hair and was wearing a white sweatshirt. _How can he stand the heat? _The Japanese girl wondered. Then she blinked; the boy was acting odd. He was peering into a room, then closing it and going on to another one. _Odd… _

"Oh, Raimundo," Skye said lightly upon seeing the boy. "So you're here. Good, I wanted to…" he touched the kid's shoulder, and the kid yelped.

"What the—!" Rai jumped violently, and he pivoted on his foot. He swiveled around and put some distance between him and Skye, settling into a guarded pose. His green eyes jumped, landing first on Skye, then on the three visitors.

The boy was breathing hard. Once he recognized Skye, he stepped backwards and put his hand over his heart with a scowl. "Don't _do _that!" he snapped, still a bit fazed by the man's appearance.

'_Skye-san was wrong when he said this kid was jumpy.' _Kimiko thought to herself, eyeing the kid as he caught his breath. _'I don't think that 'jumpy' even begins to cover it…' _

"I wasn't trying to sneak up on you, Raimundo," Skye scolded. "You just don't pay much attention."

Shaking his head, Raimundo turned away. "Yeah ok fine," he said quickly, sticking his head into another room. Trying to keep the boy's attention, Skye stepped forward and started talking.

"Rai, stop that and listen." He ordered. "We have guests. This is my friend, Master Fung, from China… and these are his two new students." He looked at the kid, who was now just closing the door. "We need to have a chat with you."

Shaking his head, Raimundo trotted across the room. The others in the room watched as Rai crossed the wood quickly, his eyes searching wildly for something. Skye groaned. "Raimundo, are you listening to me?" he asked.

The boy peered into another room, then closed it, frowning. "No time to talk. I want to know, WHERE is Zeik? There's a storm coming, and I want everyone inside before it hits! Where's Zeik? And where are David and ra-… ra-rachell-lllll…?" Rai stopped in place, nose twitching, and suddenly he sneezed very violently. It wasn't a normal sneeze, either… with it came a huge gust of wind out of nowhere, scattering in all directions and throwing everyone backwards for a moment. Rai himself flew backwards into a wall. When he regained his breath, he started cursing vividly, his younger brothers and sisters listening with delight. Kimiko caught a few of the words, but they were in assorted languages—ranging from English to Portuguese, from German to, oddly enough, Russian—making it hard to understand. All she got from it was that the kid was severely upset.

"Where the heck did ya learn to swear like that?" Clay asked, slightly shocked.

Rai coughed, realizing he'd been swearing in front of his younger siblings. "Ah, um… tourists. Get a lot of 'em 'round here, see?" he blushed and turned away. "From the time at the circus to my time at the restaurant, I must've learned more than a few languages…"

"Know any Japanese?" Kimiko asked before she could stop herself.

"Not enough to make conversation…" he answered with a shrug. Suddenly reminded of his problem, Raimundo started opening nearby doors and checking in them for his missing brothers and sisters.

Skye sighed. "Rai, kid, C'mere. There's no sense in looking for them, this house is huge. They'll show up eventually."

Rai gave the man a hard look. "'Eventually' doesn't work! There's gonna be a storm!" he repeated.

The older male frowned. "How bad's the storm going to be? And you've never been able to tell that before…" he trailed off, glancing out the window. "There's not a cloud in the sky."

"Maybe," Rai protested. "But I know there's going to be a storm. A big one. I'd say a hurricane, but I can't tell for sure. The wind's all wrong." Rai paused for a moment, looking up. His eye had caught Kimiko, who'd spoken to him earlier. "Say, what's a gal like you doing in this house anyway? You definitely aint from around here, you know? Your eyes are too slanted. And what's with those clothes?" He had turned to ask Clay, scratching his head in confusion when he saw Clay's cowboy hat and outfit. A glance over to where Master Fung was just made him look even more confused. "And I'm not going to even start on you, sir." He said to the martial arts master.

"That's ok, I get that a lot." Master Fung shrugged.

Skye sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Darn it, Rai, I knew you weren't listening." He mumbled. "These are our guests. Master Fung, who is an old friend of mine, is staying here for a while." He pointed to the old man. "These two are Clay and Kimiko, also traveling with Master Fung, and are his students."

"Like I'm your student?" Raimundo asked.

"Right." Skye nodded. "And Master Fung would very much like to talk to you, so if you could just…"

"No," Rai repeated. "If he's staying over, he'll have all the time in the world. I want to find everybody NOW." He paused to count his siblings that were currently in the room. "And so far, I'm missing Zeik, Rachel, David, and Vince. Of course." He sighed.

Skye sighed as well. "Raimundo…" he started, but shook his head. "Look, I will call David, all right? Could you please talk with Master Fung?"

"Just a minute." Rai said, trotting upstairs.

Skye let out another heavy sigh. "That kid…" he groaned. "Excuse me, I have to make a call. Make yourself at home," he told the group. "Guest bedrooms are upstairs, the entire third floor on the right." with that, Skye left them.

The small girl from earlier walked up to Kimiko, tugging on her skirt. When Kimiko looked down, the girl hid behind the teddy bear that she held. "Hi." She said quietly.

"Um, hi." Kimiko smiled warmly down to her. "I'm Kimiko, what's your name?" she asked.

"I'm Mai. Your hair is long." She said quickly. "Why's it that funny color?"

Kimiko's hand strayed up to her hair. Today she wore it down, and she had to admit that it _was_ long. It went down past her waist, and today she'd dyed the ends blue. "Because I dyed it, silly." She said, pointing to the tips that were dyed.

"Why?" another kid came up to her. This one was a boy, and a bit older, and he had short brown hair.

"Because I like to." She said.

"Rai did that to David once." The boy jumped up and down, a smile on his face. "But David didn't like it."

"Rai?" Kimiko repeated, remembering the boy that had been there earlier.

The kid nodded, thinking that Kimiko didn't know who he was talking about. "Rai's my brother. He likes to play jokes." Said the boy in a matter-of-fact tone.

Kim lowered her eyelids knowingly. "Oh he does, does he?"

Another girl trotted over to the window, standing on her tip-toes to look out it. She scanned the sky expectantly, making Clay come over in curiosity. Only when he stood behind her did she acknowledge him, and even then she still faced out the window. "So my brother's right, you're wearing odd clothes." She commented, eyes still turned upwards to the blue sky.

"Um, yeah, I guess tha'd be right," he answered. "I'm Clay Baily."

The girl tore her eyes away from the window for a second to give Clay an attentive look and a compelling smile. "I'm Josie." She told him. Then, with no warning, she turned back to the sky before her.

Curious, Clay leaned forward. "What are you looking at, Josie?" he asked, looking over her shoulder.

"Clouds. Well, not right now, but Rai says there'll be some," she insisted. "We didn't get lots of rain lately, so we like clouds. But bro's kinda nervous, so I dunno if that's a good thing." She told him quickly, giving Clay the impression that she was on a sugar high.

"Does he act like that a lot?" Clay asked, looking up the stairs where the Brazilian boy had disappeared through.

Josie shrugged. "Well…" she hummed. "Sky's been encouraging him to go with the flow… trust his power, you know? So lately, he's just been acting on his emotions. But he didn't do that before. He doesn't really like his power."

"If it's anythin' like mine, I'm sure he wouldn't…" Clay muttered to himself. Josie turned to look at him.

"You got power too?" she asked, blinking at him.

"Ah…" Clay paused. "Well… I s'ppose I do. But let's keep that a secret, ok?" he said to the younger girl. She shrugged and turned back to the window.

A moment later, the door opened, and everyone turned to see a well-dressed girl walk in. She blinked at the scene before her. "Ah… hi…" she said slowly, inspecting the newcomers in her house. "Um… Are you…?"

Master Fung smiled. "Hello there. I'm Master Fung, and these are my students, Clay and Kimiko." He introduced the two to the girl. "I'm an old friend of Sky Pedrosa's."

Understanding, the girl nodded. "Ah. I see, nice to meet you. I'm Rachel." She introduced herself, moving across the room to stand next to her sister Josie. "Jos, what're you doing?" she asked the younger child.

"Raimundo says there's gonna be a big big storm!" she exclaimed, pointing out the window. Rachel raised an eyebrow, looking out through the glass. While she was looking, Josie raised her voice loudly, startling the others as she shouted. "Rai! Rachel's home!" she screamed.

A second later, Rai came thundering down the steps. The second he was down, he jumped over to Rachel, holding her by the shoulders and looking her over, as if inspecting her for some injury. When he was satisfied that she was really in front of him and ok, he turned. "Don't go out of the house, ok?" he told her, darting back up the stairs.

"That was…" Rachel blinked at the empty staircase in front of her. "Odd… even for you, Rai…"

A few moments later, Skye Pedrosa came through the doorway, a cell phone pressed to his ear. "Yeah, I know, but he's getting really upset. I think you should come home, just to make him feel better. And who knows? He could be right." he talked into the device. The man paused for a moment as he listened to the reply, and spoke. "All right, see you soon, David." He said, snapping the cell phone shut. He turned to the group, eyes catching sight of Rachel. "Ah. You're home. I'm sure Raimundo will be happy about that…"

"He just jumped down here, grabbed me by the shoulders, and told me not to leave the house." Rachel put her hands on her hips, giving her caretaker a look. "What, exactly, was that about?"

Skye sighed. "Rai's convinced there's going to be a hurricane and is freaking out." He gave her a shrug. "Just in case, don't go out, all right?"

Rachel groaned. "He's in one of his moods again, isn't he?" she asked, rubbing her neck and closing her eyes. "I mean, it's bad enough that he's got to get that weird power, but ever since, he's been acting emotional and erratic."

"Well, I hate to admit it, but that's sort of what I wanted," the older man groaned, rubbing his own neck. "I thought that if he got more in touch with his power, emotionally and physically, then he wouldn't have all those random… outbursts. He'd be closer with it and have more control over it."

Rachel frowned at him. "He DOES have more control over it!" she exclaimed. "The first week he found that power, there was no end to the wind in the house! He started a tornado in the bathroom!"

"He does have MORE control over it," Skye agreed with a cringe, remembering the bathroom incident. "But not as much as I'd HOPED."

"How BAD is it?" Master Fung asked, stepping forward.

Skye opened his mouth, unsure of what to say. "He hears things on the wind," he answered after a moment. "The wind still picks up when he's around. He tripped down the stairs recently and the wind broke his fall, leaving a huge gaping hole in the floor where he would've landed, because of the force. His element still reacts to his feelings." He gave his old friend a shrug. "Power isn't supposed to react to the holder's thoughts unless it's in use. And it reacts to Rai's every thought, so… what? Is it always in use? Rai can't force his power to rest within him?"

When Master Fung gave no answer, Skye turned away. "I know that you used to have problems with your own gift." He shrugged. "But you only ever had problems with it when you tried to work with your own power. He's not even trying, and he runs into problems."

"The first sign of being a dragon," Fung sighed, closing his eyes. "Is being tied to the elements. The constant, endless contact with one's power." The old man opened his eyes again. "You have warned him, haven't you?"

Skye grinned sheepishly. "Well, funny thing about that…"

The next moment, Raimundo was thundering down the stairs again. He stepped in front of Skye. "Well?" he asked the man.

"David is going to be home in thirty minutes," the man replied briskly. Raimundo gave a satisfied nod and turned, but was stopped by Sky's hand on his arm. "Raimundo, for the last time, stop it. They'll show up eventually."

"Zeik isn't here!" Raimundo protested.

Skye raised an eyebrow. "What about Vince?" he asked.

At this, Rai waved his hand. "Oh, no, I found him upstairs, in your astronomy room," he assured his caretaker. "I think he was setting up for a session tonight. But at least I know where he is."

"Zeik will be fine." Skye protested.

"I don't think so." Rai gave him a firm look. He then broke away, eyes searching the room, as though he thought he'd missed something the first eight times he'd looked.

"Geezus, Rai…" Rachel muttered under her breath, stepping aside so that she wasn't in his way.

Searching for his youngest brother, Rai made a move for the door closest to them. He passed the newcomer group, and for some odd reason, hesitated at the sight of Master Fung's briefcase. He paused, uncertain, and blinked at it a few times. He hesitantly reached out towards the carrying device, Master Fung's wise eyes watching him.

Suddenly, as if falling out of his odd trance, Raimundo shook his head. "Ahh," he grumbled softly to himself. His voice remained eerily quiet as he spoke, almost talking in a whisper. "What in blazes was that?"

Skye took a step backwards at the interaction, blinking in shock. "Raimundo," he started. "Could you just… PLEASE… talk to Master Fung? Hear out what he has to say."

Still a little dazed, Rai hesitated. "Is it really that important?" he asked.

When Skye said nothing, only looking away, the Brazilian boy had to sigh. "Fine, if it means that much to you. But… I want to know that Zeik's ok! I have a bad feeling."

Skye held up his hand. "I'll look for him, ok?" he compromised.

Rai paused, thinking it over. Finally he sighed. "Fine," he muttered. "But doesn't he want to put his things away first? It looks like he's staying over…" the boy eyed the man's suitcase.

With a shrug, Skye turned to Fung and the other two children. _"Will _you be staying overnight?" he asked. "I have plenty of guest bedrooms."

'_say yes… say YES…' _Kimiko crossed her fingers behind her back for good luck. She was intent on sleeping in a nice, warm, non-tatami-mat bed…

Agreeing with her silent wishes, Master Fung only nodded to his friend. "All right, Raimundo, take them upstairs." Skye said.

"Yeah, sure…" grumbled the child as he started up the staircase before them.

Kimiko's happiness dropped a bit. Sure, it was nice here, but it also meant that she had to live under the same house as this moody elementalist. Hopefully, he wasn't as rude as he seemed…

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After leading them to their rooms, Raimundo proved that he, in fact, _did _have manners by offering to get refreshments. When the group accepted, the Brazilian kid left to retrieve them, leaving Master Fung, Kimiko, and Clay to unpack in their respective rooms. None of them had really packed much, since Master Fung traveled light and the kids just sent their belongings to the temple via mail, but they took the time to be alone anyway.

Soon, the dragon of earth and the dragon of fire met in Master Fung's room. The old man was just beginning to open his other suitcase he'd brought with him; the one supposedly carrying his things, instead of the one with the crystal orbs inside of it.

The afore mentioned crystal-containing suitcase lay propped up against the bed. Clay came over, inspecting it. "So where _did_ja get this thing, Master Fung?" he asked curiously.

The man smiled at him. "It is an old relic from a few thousand years ago," he answered the child. "It has been passed down in the temple for generations. Grand Master Dashi was the one who made them, when he founded the Xiaolin Temple."

"So they're ancient, then," Clay awed.

"We have many such artifacts at the temple," Fung told him. "Scrolls, magic potions, magic items, and legends have all become part of the temple's history."

"Scrolls?" Kimiko interjected. "I thought scrolls only survived a few years. How old could they be?"

"We keep them safe to preserve them." Fung told her. "Our oldest is fifteen hundred years old, called the scroll of the Shen Gong Wu."

"Speakin' o' which," Clay began, looking around. "Where's that critter you were with back home? I aint seen him anywhere."

Master Fung looked around, though he didn't seem too surprised. "Yes, I've noticed that myself, Clay," he said.

Kimiko frowned. _'Critter'? _she thought to herself. _He brought a pet? _

As if on cue, Master Fung's suitcase, sitting in front of him on the bed, began rattling. Curiously, the old man unzipped the black container. Once open, a green lizard-like dragon popped its head out of the bag, taking several deep, dramatic breaths.

"Dojo," Master Fung said evenly. "So this is where you disappeared off to."

The dragon gave the old man a look. "Yeah, it was awfully nice of you to LOCK ME IN YOUR SUITCASE!" Dojo snapped, curling up in annoyance. "And I'll have you know, your luggage is NOT handled with care."

Kimiko leaned over, her eyes nearly out of her head. "Is that a…"

Dojo, seeing the dragon of fire, coughed and drew himself up. "I am the dragon guardian to scroll of the Shen Gong Wu," he announced to the awed girl.

"Scroll, huh?" she asked, glancing around.

"Neh, it's sorta back at the temple," he admitted with a blush.

Master Fung stepped forward. "We'll be getting back to it soon." He smiled, patting Dojo on the head. "Right now, we're halfway around the world, in Brazil."

The dragon yawned. "Brazil, huh?" he repeated. "That's the last stop on our list, right Fung-man? I think I'll catch some z's. Wake me when we're ready to go." He yawned again and disappeared back down into the clothes in the elder monk's suitcase.

At that exact moment, Raimundo returned, drinks in hand. "Was there someone else in here?" he asked, looking around.

Kimiko blinked at him. "Uh…" she began not knowing how to explain it. She wasn't too fazed by Dojo's appearance, since Mistress Kimiyasha had told her endless stories about gecko-like dragons and magic and such. Plus, she was rather open minded. But explaining that a lizard-like dragon had just been complaining about luggage problems to this kid was… well… it would make her seem insane, really.

Not getting any answer, Raimundo blushed. "Oh. Never mind. It must've just been on the wind," he muttered the last part, making Clay look him straight in the eye.

"So y' really _do _hear things outta nowhere?" he asked as Raimundo handed him one of the drinks.

Rai just shrugged, handing the other drinks out. However, he didn't deny the information, and Clay sat back on his heels. Instead, Raimundo turned to Master Fung. "So there's something you wanted?" he asked.

Master Fung faced him. "As Skye told you, my name is Master Fung, and I am an old friend of his. He recently asked me in a letter to come and help him—with your powers, that is."

"With my powers…?" he paused, unsure.

Nodding, the martial arts master went on. "He tells me that while you have made progress, you still have problems with your gift," he said.

Raimundo's voice got low. _"That's _the understatement of the year," he muttered quietly, kicking the ground in front of him.

The martial arts master nodded. "Perhaps. We also may have figured out why," Fung added.

"Because magic is normally hard to control, and wind is generally spontaneous in its own right?" Raimundo asked, sounding like he was reciting something.

"Is that what Skye told you?" inquired the old man.

Raimundo shrugged. "It was in one of his books, when he taught me how to read English instead of my native Portuguese. Skye just says that my powers are my powers, and if I can't control them it's not entirely my fault."

Master Fung looked him over for a moment. Finally he spoke, slightly curious. "Tell me, Raimundo," he said. "Have you ever heard of a Dragon Warrior?"

He was met by a blank stare, courtesy of Raimundo. "What?" the kid managed at last.

"A Dragon Warrior. Someone chosen to wield Xiaolin powers of the elements." Master Fung explained.

"Xiaolin…?" Raimundo repeated. "Chosen…?"

Listening as the two talked, Kimiko stared at Raimundo in disbelief. At least her own teacher had told her about the human dragons. Hadn't Skye told Raimundo anything?

If his powers were anything like hers, she had to wonder. If her sensei had withheld information about her powers, she truly would've been angry. After all, anything about why she'd gotten saddled with these powers was her domain—she had every right to know that someone had chosen her to be an elemental dragon. Especially since the side effects weren't so pretty; these wrenched, god-forsaken, powers, these hell-like fires that tickled her skin and nearly burned everything when she wasn't looking…

Unknowingly, the girl let herself get mad. She frowned, gripping the cracker in her hand tightly as she thought these things. She was only able to snap out of it when the cracker burst into flames.

"EEK!" she panicked when the cracker caught fire. She dropped it on the floor, instinctively stomping it with her foot until it was nothing but crumbs and ashes on the wood. After the fire was out, she took a deep breath, and noticed everyone was staring at her. "Stupid powers…" she muttered, hiding her face behind one hand…

Raimundo blinked at her, then he turned his wide-eyed stare to Clay. "So I was right," he stated clearly. "You guys _do_ have powers. Like me."

Master Fung raised an eyebrow. "You guessed that on your own?" he asked.

"Psh," Rai scoffed. "I haven't ever seen a guy as big as him walking around on his tip-toes," he said, motioning to Clay. He looked at Kimiko, too. "And _she _has scorch marks on the cuffs of her shirt."

Checking to see, Kimiko found he was right. Her sleeves' ends had little black marks around them, even though she hadn't lost her temper much today. The boy went on. "Plus, they have this… _air_ about them…" he added.

Master Fung listened, nodding. "You are very observant," he commented, making the boy blush.

"Never mind that," he brushed it away. "The point is, why do you all have powers? Why are you all together?"

Fung took a breath. "There is a legend that states that, at a time of great evil, elemental warriors will be chosen." He explained. "These warriors are called the Xiaolin Dragons. They gain great elemental powers, in order to fight off the evils of the Heylin side and retrieve magical objects called Shen Gong Wu. These two children," he motioned to Clay and Kimiko, "Have been found as two Xiaolin Dragons. They are accompanying me back to China in order to train and gain complete control over their powers. Do you understand?"

Raimundo paused a second, taking in the information. "I think so…" he said slowly. "Uh… how many of these… Xi-" he frowned, trying to sound it out. "Xia…Xiaolin dragon-people are there?"

"There are four." Fung told him. "Kimiko is the dragon of fire. Clay is the dragon of Earth. We have already housed a third dragon at our temple… his name is Omi, and he is the dragon of Water." He explained. "The only one we have not found is wind."

"And _that's _why you wanna speak to me?" Rai asked, suspicious. "I mean, how do you even _tell _if I'm a dragon-whatever or not?"

At this, the martial arts master motioned to his black suitcase. "There is a test I was hoping you would take." He said. "Are you willing to take it?"

Rai shifted on his foot. Finally, he sighed. "Yeah, sure, whatever…" he rubbed the back of his neck, looking oddly at the black suitcase.

The adult nodded, motioning for the boy to sit on the bed. Taking this as their cue, Kimiko and Clay immediately turned to the door. "We'll, uh… be out here, if yall need us," Clay said quietly, leaving.

Kimiko's stomach growled, and her eyebrows kicked up. "I'm still hungry," she commented. "Let's go see if Skye-san has anything to eat!" She turned, opening the door and leaving the room.

Clay walked out behind Kimiko, glancing back before the door shut. He only saw them for long enough to see Master Fung reach down and pick up the suitcase containing the ancient magical crystals…

-

* * *

-

When the door opened again, the kids looked up to see a somewhat displeased Master Fung. Raimundo gave him one last look, with a raised eyebrow, then turned to Skye. "Find Zeik yet?" he asked.

The older man shook his head, and Rai sighed in worry, going off. Skye came over to Master Fung as the kid left the room. "So… judging by the look on your face…" he began.

"He passed," Master Fung answered the question before Skye had time to ask it. He didn't look pleased, though. Turning to the adult, Fung spoke again. "You didn't tell him about the Elemental Dragons, even though there may be a chance that he is one?" he asked Skye, genuinely surprised.

The man knew he'd been cornered. He shrugged, his grey-green eyes looking away guiltily. "There just… was never an appropriate opportunity to, that's all." He explained with a shrug.

"You'll have to tell him about everything now," Fung said. "And about the temple."

Skye nodded. They continued to talk, leaving Kimiko and Clay out of the conversation. Kim sighed, looking at a nearby bookshelf. "This place sure is different from home," she commented. She'd already gotten somewhat used to the heat, but the style that everything in this house followed was so different…

Clay shrugged in agreement. Before he could say anything, though, a girl walked in; he recognized her from earlier. Her name was Josie. She eyed the adults, looking somewhat upset. Seeing that Skye was busy with Master Fung, she came over and stood by Clay to wait.

"What's up? Som'n' wrong?" he asked her, not liking the look on her face.

She hesitated, and the adults nearby stopped talking for a second. "The sky's weird," she said at last.

Skye stopped, breaking his conversation with master Fung. "Show me," he said, and Josie led him to the next room. She pointed out the window, and Skye looked, his eyes widening. Everyone could see; even though it was early in the afternoon, the sky was very dark. Kimiko could tell that the wind had picked up a lot, and clouds had moved in.

"Hurricane," Skye muttered under his breath. "I'm sure of it. Jos? Go get the radio," he requested of the younger girl, who went to obey. She came back with not only the radio, but the other kids as well.

Taking the radio from her, Skye tuned it to a static-y station, listening in. Kimiko leaned in as well, though she couldn't understand the words. It seemed to be a Brazilian station. After a few moments, his frown deepened, and he turned to the kids. "All right, everyone downstairs," he said, counting heads.

As Skye finished the count, he frowned. David hadn't made it back yet, obviously, and Zeik was still missing. It seemed as though Rai's worries were well founded—!

He stopped abruptly. "Where's Raimundo?" he asked. Clay looked to see that he was right; the boy in question was missing.

Josie's breathing got quicker. "He went _outside,_" she said, her voice raising an octave. "_Puta que te pariu!_ He'll die!" she said in Portuguese, and she started crying.

Rachel, behind her, gasped. _"Josephina!" _she said, in such a way that Kimiko could only assume that her younger sister had used a swear word. Her face softened after a moment. "Come here. Rai's stupid, but he's not _that _stupid." She said, taking the girl into her arms.

Skye stepped forward, looking at Rachel. "Where'd she learn to swear like that? Does she know what it means?"

"She probably got it from Rai," Rachel said. She turned around to address her family. "All right, you heard Skye, let's get to the basement," she said, motioning for Vince (who stood near the back,) to walk down the hallway. Once they reached the end, the group headed through a door that led downwards.

Skye turned to his guests. "You should probably go too," he said.

Clay frowned. "But what about you?"

The man shook his head. "I'll… wait up for Raimundo." He said finally. "And David… he was supposed to be here by now."

Master Fung raised an eyebrow. "If they are as able-bodied as you say, they'll be fine." He said. "What are you going to do? Go out in the storm and find them?"

The adult's eyes flashed, and Kimiko blinked. _'Skye was really going to go outside? In this weather?' _she wondered.

"You have other children needing your attention," Fung pointed out. "If you're injured, they have no one. It's better to stay here."

"But…!" Skye started, then bit down on his tongue. "I can't just _leave _them out there! What if…!"

Suddenly, they heard a click. Skye turned to see that the doorknob was twisting, and the door creaked open. Wind filled the room, if only for a second, as someone came in from outside.

It was Raimundo. The boy was carrying something big, and Skye's eyes widened when he saw that it was David. The wind elementalist struggled with the eighteen-year-old's form, but he managed to get them inside.

"Raimundo!" Skye stepped forward, taking David from him. "What happened?"

The boy stepped away from the door, and the wind immediately picked up again. There was a _slam! _that made everyone jump; the wind had slammed the door shut. Rai blinked at it, setting his hand against the door for a moment, then he sighed and sat, turning so the door would support his back. "I was checking the gardens, to see if Zeik was there," he said. "The wind picked up, and I got worried. So I left. But I came around the front, and David was lying in the driveway. I think he has a concussion," he motioned to his older brother, who Skye had laid out on the floor.

The man checked David's head; it bled lightly at the back. Suddenly, David flinched, his eyes popping open. "Wha…?"

"Are you all right?" Skye asked, knowing the answer.

David winced. "What do you think?" he asked in a heavily accented voice. He glanced at the people by him, face stuck in a grimace. Still, he managed to ask, "Where's Zeik?"

Rai's eyebrows kicked up. "Dunno," replied the younger boy. "Why do you ask?"

David sighed, closing his eyes. "I think he was with me—yea, he was." He reached up to rub his eyes. "We went down to the market together, you know? But when Skye called, we headed back…"

"I didn't see him out there," Rai told him, his eyes flashing, alert.

Slowly David spoke again. "I was carrying him, we were almost to the house…" he stopped to look at his surroundings before going on. "Something hit me in the back of the head though. I think Zeik grabbed something…" he motioned to the right, his eyes closed again. "Before I passed out."

Rai bit his lip. "Damn it," he muttered, standing. Skye knew he was going outside again and gave him a look, but Rai rolled his eyes. "I'll be fine. Wind can't affect me, right?" he asked.

Skye looked about to protest, but stopped. "Just… be careful," he said.

Rai put his hand on the door and frowned. He tugged, but the door didn't budge. "Uh oh." He tugged harder, then braced his foot against the door frame and pulled. Nothing. "Damn it, _Damn_ it," he muttered, and his voice slipped into Portuguese as he tried to pull.

"The wind's probably blocking it," Kimiko informed Rai. He looked at her, then put his hand on the door and closed his eyes. He tapped the wood, then waved his hand back and forth, and tugged at the door. It didn't budge.

"I can't control the wind from here," he said, frowning. He waved his hand and tried again, with the same result. "The wood's blocking me. I don't have enough control."

Skye thought for a moment. "You could try the back door," he said finally, though he doubted it would work.

Frustrated, Rai punched the door. Kimiko and Clay watched as he did, feeling sorry for him. Then an idea occurred to the Japanese girl. She didn't like the idea, but it would probably work…

She stepped forward. "You think you know where Zeik is?"

Rai frowned. "David was lying on the driveway," he said, "And he thought Zeik was over _there," _he mimicked David's motion earlier with his right hand. "To the right of the driveway. So he's probably near the cliff…" the thought made Rai wince, and he hit his head against the door in frustration. "Though some good it does me, if I'm stuck in _here." _

Kimiko sighed, and Rai looked at her. "I can open it," she told him. "But it could get a little ugly…"

Rai's eyebrows kicked up. He stood aside, letting the girl closer to the door. "If you could get it open…" he started.

The girl hesitated, trying the doorknob. She knew it wouldn't work, but she had to try first. She sighed. "Guess I'll have to. But… do you really have to do this?" Kimiko asked, looking at Rai.

"I have to," the boy agreed.

With a groan, knowing she'd regret this later, she turned to the door. She gave it another tug, but knew it wouldn't open. It was just too windy outside. "All right, then," she sighed, raising her hands.

A spark. Fire. Kimiko pulled at a strong emotion within her, feeling excited. She could feel the fire's touch inside of her. Slowly, she let it out, teasing it. it burned forever within her veins, warming her, strengthening her. She would let it out now, let it have some REAL fun. She'd give it wood to burn, and plenty of it.

The thought of actual tinder excited the fire within her. It came out of her palm at her call, dancing through her fingertips. Cringing, knowing she'd pay for it in a moment, she held her hands to the door and applied the fire.

It burst into flames. Seconds passed before the door had a huge burned hole in the center of it. The wind howled through it, putting out the fire like a man would blow out a candle. Now the air was filled with wind.

Raimundo didn't let that happen for long. Although he was surprised at Kimiko's ability, he jumped into action after only a second of hesitation. He morphed the wind around without thinking about it. It swiveled around him, blocking the gusts. He gave a look back to the group before giving a determined nod, and he raced through the gap.

Without Raimundo's presence to calm the wind, the house was filled with the gale-force blasts of air once more. Clay braced against the wind, seeing the ground outside the house. A second passed, and he decided. Kimiko had used her power to help. Now it was his turn.

He anchored himself down into the ground. The earth pulled around him, nearly laughing at the wind. How dare the wind—the wind!—think that it was the earth's master? No matter how hard the wind blew, the earth would not give way. The mountain would not fall.

A pebble. A crack. Usually, Earth would mind it's business. But how the wind bothered it so! Just to teach a lesson, it decided to move just this once. Reaching down, Clay dug his fingers into the earth, drawing out it's strength. The huge mass trembled beneath the dragon's grip. The movement was slow at first—terraforce was always slow to take action—but then faster. It rippled, and right over the door, the agitated ground shot upwards, stopping inches from the top of the doorframe. Well, the earth could not stop the wind from blowing, but it certainly could block the wind!

Blinking at his work, Clay sat back on his heels. He turned, seeing others awing at his newly-formed stone door. "What?" he asked them innocently, as though this was normal.

Skye stared for a moment longer before tearing his eyes away. "Of course. You two are the other elemental dragons, aren't you?" he asked, trying to settle the shock in his voice. "I should've known you were able to do things like that."

"They're like Raimundo then?" David asked, rubbing his eyes.

Skye shot a glance at Master Fung, who's face was blank. David's caretaker paused for a moment, and then sighed. "I think they're exactly like Raimundo." He admitted sadly.

Clay looked at the stone door, settling in a cross-legged position in front of it. "Darn," he said, inspecting his work. "I left a hole. Hope that don't cause trouble for us," he reached forward and rubbed the said mark; there was a fist-sized gap in the stone wall about halfway up.

Kimiko peered through it. "I can see the kid," she mentioned, then turned to Clay. "You realize you're going to have to let him in when he comes back…"

Clay nodded. "I know. I hope I can manage it," he sighed in frustration.

David rubbed his eye, sitting up. "You can see Rai? He's ok, then?" he asked.

Kimiko motioned to the hole. "See for yourself," she said, understanding his worry.

The group crowded around the mini spy-hole that Clay had left in the stone door, watching Raimundo with apprehension.

-

* * *

-

Once outside, Raimundo proceeded down to the driveway. There, he stopped, eyes searching. It only took a minute to locate his brother; the three-year-old Zeik was clinging to a tree near the cliff. Rai sighed in relief, (his brother hadn't fallen off the cliff, which was good,) he started for the spot.

Raimundo sensed something was wrong a second later. He stopped abruptly, then ducked as an object resembling a small tree flew over his head. He faltered, then stood once more. He decided he'd have to be careful; as an elementalist, the wind couldn't affect him, but the objects caught in it sure could.

It wouldn't be too pretty if the gales tossed something bigger at him—like a car, or a house…

Wincing at the thought, he shook it from his head. _Just pay attention, _he told himself, eyes locked on his brother. _Just stay focused. _

Quickly, he took up his course again, this time watching for loose debris. After dodging several crates and smaller obstacles, he managed to reach his brother. The three-year-old clung to the trunk of a tree he'd anchored himself to, and was reluctant to let go. Rai understood that Zeik was upset and afraid, but he was also nervous, wanting to get his brother inside as soon as possible. After all, the longer they stayed out there, the more chance of something bad happening…

As if to spite him, it did just that. The wind suddenly blew harder, forcing Rai to close his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, he felt the earth below him beginning to crack. Green eyes widened as he saw what was happening; the wind was uprooting the tree.

The world slammed into slow motion. Before Rai's eyes, the tree began to fall away, then it was an inch in the air, then—Zeik, holding on to the tree, began to let go. His brother was falling, the tree was floating away, and Raimundo was doing nothing!

Instinctively, Rai jumped after his brother. It took only a few seconds to grab his brother by the wrist and pull him away from the tree before it hit them. Another problem presented itself though; now they were falling off the cliff…

Zeik screamed, but Rai could barely hear him over the wind. He took a deep breath as they began to fall, then faced downwards. He was falling, was he?

Great. Probably the second worst thing that could happen besides getting struck by a flying house. He gripped Zeik, hoping there wasn't anything sharp at the base of this cliff. He looked down; The sea caught his eye, making him remember the last time he was stuck in this situation only a year ago—! Wait a second…! _Ugh, STUPID! _What was he _doing? _

He could _fly!_

-

* * *

-

Inside, David's eyes went wide as he jerked back from the mini-spy-hole. The action made Skye look at him. "What happened?" he asked.

David opened his mouth, then closed it. The second time, he spoke, his voice was cracked. "The tree Zeik was holding onto got uprooted," he said quietly. "It flew off the cliff—and…"

"And?" Kimiko asked, trying to see through the hole.

David took a deep breath. "Rai jumped off after him…"

Clay looked at him, eyes wide. "What's at the bottom of that cliff?" he asked.

Skye sighed. "The sea," he moaned.

David bit his lip. "What if they drown?" he asked quietly.

Kimiko was still watching out the spy-hole that David had abandoned. Her eyes went wide, and she spoke. "What if he _doesn't?" _she asked, making them look at her questioningly. The worry in her eyes was replaced by wonder.

"What's going on?" Clay asked, trying to see over Kimiko's shoulder.

"Raimundo's ok," she said, leaning in intently. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but Clay stiffened at her next words. "He's… _flying." _

Clay's jaw dropped, and Skye, behind them, hit his forehead. "Of course, how could I forget that he can _fly?_" he asked himself.

"It's part of his powers?" Clay asked.

Skye nodded, but didn't say anything. It was Kimiko who spoke up. "He's coming closer, Clay," she nudged the Dragon of Earth. "He's got a kid in his arms… is that the Zeik kid that he was looking for? Anyway, you'll…" she paused, looking at Clay again. "You'll have to put this door back down."

With a sigh, Clay nodded, and Kimiko stood and got out of the way. Clay took a deep breath, looking through the hole in the door to see that Rai was indeed getting closer. Clay couldn't help but think how _young _the child in Raimundo's arms looked… but then he closed his eyes, calming himself.

For the second time today, he called to the earth. It answered him slowly, wondering what Clay wanted. Clay politely asked it to go back down… _just for a second_… and even though it didn't understand—_why_ did it have to move?—the earth reluctantly obeyed.

It inched downwards, then fell. Wind blasted through, and Clay's hand flew to his cowboy hat before it blew away. A second later, the shadow of a human stood in the doorway.

Rai staggered in, Zeik a bundle in his arms. The wind was stronger than the first time he'd come in; the wind elementalist was very tired.

Clay used his powers once more, attempting to pull up a new stone door. His first try yielded a stone that only went halfway up the doorframe. He tried again, and when nothing happened, he tried a third time. The stone responded so violently that it shot up, nearly splintering and breaking the top of the doorframe.

With a dejected sigh—why couldn't he control the earth very well?—the dragon of earth turned around to see what was happening. Skye came forward, taking Zeik from Raimundo's arms. The child clung to the older man. "Are you all right?" the adult asked Rai.

Rai opened his mouth to answer, but suddenly a zoned-out expression overcame his face. He wavered, unsure.

_Uh oh. I know that look. _Clay thought, standing quickly. His arms shot forward to catch the child just as Rai's knees buckled. The wind dragon fell backwards, his eyes fluttering shut as he sank into unconsciousness…

-

* * *

-

GAH! This isn't long! It isn't even "rather long"!… it's LO-O-ONG!

Oh, and Hope you like my cliffie! It's practically the only real cliffie in this entire story, and I've been dying to write one… so… XP. I promise, the next chapter is much shorter than this one—and will also be the last chapter. I'm almost done!

Please review!


	10. A Place To Call Home

Dragons will be Dragons

Well, we're in the home stretch. Welcome to the last, final chapter! Here's where I address the Raimundo's-last-name problem. I just love being tricky… :D

* * *

Note: _I warn, for the greater good, that one does not say "I own Xiaolin Showdown", unless you want a lawsuit… or if you have the word "Don't" somewhere in there. _

"I don't own Xiaolin Showdown."

* * *

Ch. 10: a place to call home

It took a few days to get everything back in order. After the storm, Skye called in a doctor to check Zeik, David and Rai for any injuries. Raimundo slept for a long time, while David and Zeik only got up periodically.

Clay and Kimiko helped put the house back to order after the hurricane hit, even if they were exhausted themselves. Skye and Master Fung did even more; after putting the house back together, they ordered the children to sleep while going to the market and helping the community put their belongings in order, and to help those who were injured.

Finally the activity slowed after a few days, and the last bit of normalcy came in the morning on the fourth day, as they were eating breakfast in Skye's overly-large kitchen.

Mai looked in on them shyly from the doorway. She still wasn't used to the visitors, but she had something odd in her eye. When Skye beckoned her over, she didn't move, instead hugging her trademark teddy bear tightly. "Rai's not in his room," she said quietly.

Skye took a deep breath, trying to let it out with control. "That kid…" he muttered, standing. "I'll be back." He informed them, then left.

-

* * *

-

Skye had a sneaking suspicion that Raimundo would be outside, and he was right. It had taken a few minutes to spot him, but once he did, he was happy enough just to watch the boy.

Raimundo had picked himself a nice, sunny spot overlooking the cliff. The cliff that he had fallen off of only three days ago, to be exact. Rai sat with his back to a tree, staring out into the nearby ocean that the cliff overlooked. He seemed at peace, and all the worry from before was gone from his face.

Finally, Skye had to approach him. Although Rai looked content, the boy would still be tired from flying. And, the fact that he'd come out here proved that there was clearly something bothering him. Reluctantly, the adult approached.

"You should be in bed," he said, giving Rai a start. The boy jumped in his place, looking over to his caretaker with a surprised glare. The adult gave an apologetic smile, coming over and sitting on the grass nearby. "Sorry for scaring you, but it's true. You really shouldn't be out here alone. Mai was worried."

Rai didn't say anything. He watched Skye for a few minutes, then turned his head to look out to the sea once more. The wind picked up, plucking at the boy's white cotton shirt. Skye sighed. "Something wrong?"

"I'm going to be leaving, aren't I?" he asked.

The adult ran his squarish fingers through his dark hair. "I won't make you if you don't want to go," he said truthfully. "Master Fung isn't one to push unnecessary responsibility on children. It's your choice to stay or go."

"And if I go," Rai plucked out a stray blade of grass that was tickling his leg. "Then I get control of these stupid powers."

Skye nodded. "You would be able to control them much better than you do now."

Rai remained silent, plucking another shred of grass from the ground beneath him. He looked out to the sea.

"Something wrong?" Skye asked kindly, hoping that Rai would tell him. He hated seeing the boy struggle like this.

With a slight hesitation, Rai looked back at his mentor. "My family." he managed after a moment. It wasn't a full sentence, but it was enough.

Skye gave him a kind smile. "It's all right." he said. "So you're worried about leaving them behind. But I'm sure that they'd just want what was best for you." He stopped for a moment, looking out over the sea. "Are you afraid of leaving them? Of being homesick?"

Rai struggled with the reason, trying to explain. "I just… I just don't want to leave them, you know?" Raimundo sighed, looking out towards the horizon. "I'm afraid that the moment I leave, you'll… I don't know, ditch them."

The unexpected insecurity made Sky laugh aloud. "Ditch them? Why would I 'ditch' your family?" he asked. A look into the kid's eyes made him frown, though, and a mild shock replaced his laughter. "You can't seriously believe that I would," he stated.

Raimundo shrugged. It DID sound stupid now that he said it aloud. "It's just… my parents had no trouble just LEAVING us like that. Why would you?"

There was a moment of silence as Skye blinked at him. "Because I consider you, and your siblings, to be my family." the man stated slowly.

"But…" Rai trailed off.

With a sigh, Skye reached into his back pocket. "I didn't want to show you this, I wanted it to be a surprise." He said, more to himself than to Rai. "But… here." He handed the kid a bunch of folded up papers.

Slowly, Rai took it and unfolded them. They appeared to be forms, and each had his sibling's names on them. He shuffled through them until he saw one with his own name scrawled on it. Curiously, he looked at it, and then to Skye. "What's this?"

"Adoption papers." Replied the man, making Raimundo's jaw drop.

"But… but how?!" Raimundo's eyes snapped back to the papers, giving them another look-over.

Skye shrugged. "I took your parents to court." He answered. "For Child abuse and neglect. I won. And then, I filed in to be your adoptive father. For you and your brothers and sisters. Your parents can't come back and 'claim' you, you are no longer part of the Sanchez family. You are now "Raimundo Pedrosa"." He looked over to Raimundo. "Is that ok?"

"Is it Ok? Is it **OK?" **Rai repeated. He nearly hugged the guy. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

"I was going to give it out as a birthday present," He shrugged.

Raimundo inspected the papers for a few more minutes, then looked up in wonder. "Pedrosa." He said, as if he were trying the word out in his ears. It sounded… good. "Raimundo Pedrosa."

Skye stretched with a groan. "Of course, now I'm going to have to give the rest of the family—your brothers and sisters—their papers, too. I wonder how they will react?" He said, more to himself than to Rai. He gave the green-eyed boy a glance. "I can have more copies made, if you want to keep the paper," he offered.

Raimundo studied him for a few seconds, then nodded. He looked towards the horizon, the ocean glinting in his eyes. "You really are taking care of us, aren't you?" he asked quietly.

"I promised," Skye said with a shrug. "And besides… it's a pleasure."

"Except for that time when Matt broke your entire "Glass animals" collection when he hit that golf ball in the basement," he muttered with a smirk tickling his face. "I can't assume that experience was a 'pleasure'."

Skye laughed. "Actually, looking back on it, that was pretty funny." He admitted. "Except for the part where he tried to clean it up and got cuts all over his hand. THAT part, I still don't like."

Rai studied his mentor; he'd been studying since Skye had first come out here. Raimundo was always a very perceptive child, and he wanted to see if he could detect anything off about his teacher. Over the past year, Skye had earned his trust, but this was really a final test. To see if obligation would carry on even if Rai wasn't there to remind him.

But to heck with obligation. Right now, it seemed that Skye was acting less on responsibility and more on the fact that he actually… cared. Skye cared about Rai and his family.

So he didn't have anything to worry about, after all.

Finally, he broke the silence. "So, anyway, about this Xi-… lin… temple thing." Rai started again, struggling with the name.

"Xiaolin." Skye corrected. "What about it?"

"I was thinking I'd go. But… I have a question. The old man mentioned something about dragons…" Raimundo trailed off, his green eyes lighting on his 'stepfather'. Under the Brazilian boy's gaze, Skye shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry," the man apologized. "I should've mentioned it to you sooner."

Rai studied him. "What… _is_a dragon, anyway? Not a creature, a **dragon." **

Skye sighed, and began explaining things to his student.

_-_

* * *

-

They were finally ready to go. It had taken about a week for Raimundo to get back up to full strength—or, at least well enough for Skye to let him go. The stay had been a rather long one, compared to the Japan and America visits, but it was welcomed.

The house was nice, and Kimiko and Clay got to experience some more of the Brazilian culture—particularly the day after Rai woke up, when Skye had given the rest of the kids their adoption papers. Everyone had been surprised (and extremely happy,) and so they'd thrown a party. The atmosphere was quite different, as was the food; Kimiko took a particular liking to one candy that the quiet little girl Mai had told her was called "Paçoca" which was a peanut-based hard candy. When Kim told her that she wished she could have more, but was afraid she'd eat too much and get fat (it was a really good candy, after all,) Mai had actually laughed.

After the party, the travelers learned that Raimundo was indeed coming with them, but Skye wouldn't let him go until he was fully recovered. That's why they'd waited a full week; holding up for the green-eyed boy to get better. Over that week, they'd all become close and made good friends, and when Skye finally announced that Rai was well enough to not only walk on his own, but well enough to actually start training again, they almost wished they didn't have to leave.

Maybe they _would _be staying longer, they found, when Skye did a head-count. As the adult's eyes took roll of all the people coming to the airport, he slowly turned white. "We have ten children and two adults." He said, his eye twitching slightly.

"And a dragon," Kimiko added under her breath in a whisper, making Clay smirk.

"Minivans only hold eight people, nine people tops!" Skye said throwing his arms up in frustration. "We are _not _going to shove everyone into one car! Fung, tell me you can drive!"

"Drive." The martial arts master repeated. He gave Skye a look that was so disbelieving that Skye actually recoiled for a second.

"Okay, fine, never mind," the other adult muttered. "You know, friend, you _could _get with the times a bit…"

Vince, Raimundo's eldest brother, stepped forward. He caught Skye by the shoulder just as his stepfather was turning around. "Have you forgotten that _I _can drive?" he asked quietly.

David, hearing him, hooked his arm around Vince's neck. Vince, who was much quieter than David, looked kind of unsure of the contact, but David just flashed Skye a huge smile. "Yeah, Skye, c'mon," he said, his heavy Brazilian accent making his words sound even more playful than they should've. "Let Vince 'n me take the guests. I wanna have some elbow room, for once!"

"Yeah, we're always so _crowded _when we go somewhere together!" Matt, who was the second youngest male in the family, chipped in. he hung on Skye's arm. "Pleezzeee?"

Skye heaved a heavy sigh. "All _right, _all right. Vince, you take the green van," he said, digging into his pocket for the keys. He tossed them to the oldest boy, who caught them clumsily, surprised that the man had thrown the keys to him. "Take our guests, too…" Skye frowned, looking at David. "And, oh, what the heck. Take David and Matt, too, since they're arguing about elbow room."

Matt whined for a moment, but David gave a huge victory grin. "Yesssss!" he curled his fist and made a pulling motion, clearly delighted. "I call shotgun!"

"Shot…gun?" Kimiko repeated, unsure.

"It means "I call the front seat"," Clay clarified for her. He took a second to blink at her, still surprised at what she was wearing; today, she'd decked herself out in a red-white-and-blue outfit that reminded him of the American Flag. She also wore gloves to the elbow, and her hair was dyed blonde and framed her face. The long black hairs were pulled back into a wrap of some sort. Now, how the heck had she done all that in one night…?

Kimiko blinked at Clay's explanation of the word Shotgun. "Oh." She said. She'd never heard the term before. Cars weren't incredibly widespread in Japan, since they were so expensive. People preferred to take the bullet train instead, or the subway. Kim was used to riding in cars, but still…

David gave Skye a thumbs-up, taking Matt by the arm. "We'll get in the car," he said happily, and then gave a look to Vince. Something passed between them in that gaze, something that Kimiko couldn't place. But then it was gone, and he turned to leave.

Vince sighed, turning his attention on his guests. "The car is this way. Are you ready to go?" he asked, pointing towards the garage.

"I sure am," Clay said, picking up his bag. "Where's Raimundo?"

"Being slow, I'm sure." Vince said, giving a little smile.

"Actually, I'm ready to _go,_" a voice said from behind, making them all jump. They turned to see Rai leaning against the house, eyeing them. "I've been ready since yesterday. But our dearest Stepfather seems to think that I should stay in bed, so I had nothing to do but _pack _yesterday." He sniffed in disdain. "Are we ever going to _leave…?" _

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Rachel's voice came from the nearby door. Finally she stepped out, and Rai rolled his eyes. "What?"

"Doing your makeup?"

"No! I was just…"

"Doing your makeup."

"I was not!"

Rai opened his mouth to say something else, but Skye grabbed him by the arm. "C'mere, Rai, we've gotta get going," he said, breaking up the almost-fight. "We're going to miss the plane—we've still got to get through security, and…" he started ranting off, leading Rai by the arm down the path to the car that was waiting. Rachel followed, looking slightly guilty.

As she passed the travelers, she slowed. "Vince?" she said, spotting him with the foreigners.

"I'm taking a separate car, with them and David and hyper-boy," he said, calling Matt by his nickname, "Hyper-boy". Apparently, it was some inside joke that no one else understood.

Rachel eyed him for a second, then looked down. "Look, don't harass them or anything," she said quietly. When Vince paused, she gave him a look. "You're not going to—! Geezus, I _knew _I heard you and David talking last night!" she snapped.

"Why do you say 'geezus' all the time? You sound like David when you do." Vince said quietly, changing the subject.

Rachel shook her head, not answering the question. "Whatever. Just… just please watch your words," she warned, trotting to catch up to Raimundo and Skye.

Clay paused, considering what he'd just heard. What was that all about? Meanwhile, Vince turned back to Master Fung. "Are you ready to go?" he asked again. When the martial arts master nodded, he led them towards the garage, where David had disappeared off to. The Texan hooked a thumb into his belt loop, taking care as he followed them, so he wouldn't upset the earth. Part of him was apprehensive of the flight; he'd finally be seeing where he'd live for the next year or two. But now, that little conversation had added to it—what was going to happen? In the back of his mind, though, he knew that whatever Vince and Rachel were talking about, it **wasn't** going to be bad.

_We'll see, _he told himself. _We'll see what's up. _

-

* * *

-

In the car ride over, Vince kept his eyes on the road, both hands secured to the wheel. He seemed to be considering something, but he didn't say what. Kimiko studied the older boy, silently admiring how reserved he seemed. Back in Japan, most boys seemed rude and would make racist comments, since the gender gap in her own country was bigger than it was in America. And yes, Kimiko would deck any boy who said any rude, lecherous, or biased comments to her.

This boy, however, was polite and mild, looking intelligent behind his glasses. He hardly seemed rude at all. In the back of her mind, Kimiko wondered if that was why Vince looked so thoughtful at the moment; he was considering saying something but didn't want to be rude about it?

She was right, of course. David, sitting next to him, was completely different. He had a dark look about him, his skin was tan and his hair jet-black. He crossed his legs and set them on the dashboard, a defiant look on his face. Only five minutes into the drive, he spoke up. "Well, Geezus, Vince, if you aint gonna say anything, I'll have to," he scolded his older brother, his black eyes glancing sideways over to where Master Fung was sitting.

This was the only thing that could've possibly made Vince snap out of it. He sighed, slowing the car a little bit. "Then tell him, I don't care." He said, his voice quiet, as though he didn't want to say such abrasive words, even mild ones like "I don't care".

David gave a scowl to his brother, then turned to their passengers. "Yes?" Master Fung asked, looking back calmly to that defiant eighteen-year-old's face.

"So anyway, my oh-so-stupid elder brother and I were talking last night." He began, jerking his head in Vince's direction, his eyes hard. "And for once, he was finally making sense. But now he doesn't want to say a _thing,_" he shot Vince a glare. "I can assure you that he believes this, too, so listen here."

"I'm listening," Fung said.

Kimiko narrowed her eyes at the younger of the two boys. She didn't like where this seemed to be going, but in the back, she heard Matt singing quietly; "ooh, bro's gonna give it to you _now… _you're gonna get it, you're gonna get it…"

She wanted to hit the little kid, even though she knew it would be impolite and

stupid. She also wanted to hit David, for being a jerk. But what came out of the jerk's mouth the next moment actually shocked the Japanese girl for a moment.

"My younger brother may be an impulsive, overconfident idiot," he began, "But I can assure you, he can get in over his head. If I hear anything about you sending him into battle while he's injured, confused, or simply not ready to fight whatever this "Heylin" thing is, then you'll be hearing from _us." _he pointed to himself and the driver. "I know that Rai made this choice himself, so I can't expect you not to put him in danger, but there are _limits. _And no one, _no one,_ touches _mi familia." _He gave the man a cold look. "Understand?"

There was a moment of silence. "Completely."

David seemed slightly shocked at Master Fung's answer, but he just shrugged after a moment, slouching back down into the car seat. He sulked, putting his feet back up on the dashboard. "Geezus, Vince, help me out here. I can't yell at him when he's being so… agreeable." He muttered.

"Maybe that's a _good _thing?" Vince gave him a cold reply. "Listen, I'm sorry for his behavior. It's just that Raimundo is our brother, and family must look out for family, you know?" he said, hoping that the martial arts master in the back would understand. "We're all we've got, or we _were._ Before Skye picked us up, we were starving to death. And Rai took a real big hit for us, and… well, now it's time for _us _to take one for _him."_

"I understand." Master Fung assured them. "I would never send a student of mine into danger."

They rode in silence for a while, Kimiko thinking. So, David wasn't being rude after all—ok, yes he was, but he had a reason. It was weird, hearing about their family ties. Having no siblings of her own, the girl had to wonder…

David was the only one who said anything else the entire ride, as he slumped into the seat. "Geezus, the old man's like a living duplicate of Skye! How dare he be so… honest? Honestly!" he pouted. "…though I suppose if we're leaving him with a Skye-clone, we won't have to worry…" he muttered, making Vince laugh.

-

* * *

-

When they got back to the airport, the group greeted them at the area in front of security check. Raimundo turned to address his older brothers, but he stopped short. "Wait, Vince _and _David were riding in the same car? With the people I'm going to be spending the rest of my teenage years with?" he demanded. "Who's stupid idea was THAT?"

"It was Skye's. Why?" David asked, giving the boy a grin.

Rai stopped short, then hid his face in his hands. "Just _please _tell me that you didn't go all over-protective-big-brother on them, right?" he begged.

In response, David grabbed Raimundo by the shoulders and proceeded to give him a noogie, messing up his brown hair even further. "Oh, come now, why would we be worried about you? Your head is so hard, nothing could hurt you!"

"H-hey! David! Vince, make David stop!" he begged, but Vince was laughing so hard that he couldn't manage it.

Instead, it was Skye who intervened. "Kids, come on. He's got a flight in an hour," he reminded David. "We _do _have to get through security yet."

David sighed, letting go of his younger brother. Rai rubbed his sore head, looking at Skye. "So I'm guessing you all can't come through Security, huh?" he asked, eyeing the line.

"That's a 'no'," Skye told him with a grin.

Kimiko felt a tug on her arm, and turned to see Clay standing over her. "Let's let 'em say their goodbyes in peace," he said, gently pulling her away.

Kim followed, mildly curious. "I don't have any siblings of my own," she admitted, looking at the group. She was too far away to hear what they were talking about, though she doubted she'd understand even if they were closer; the seven other children seemed to be all talking at once to Raimundo. "Do you?"

"Ahh… a sister," Clay admitted quietly, looking away. He didn't seem to want to talk about it, though, so Kimiko didn't ask. She turned her face back to the group that was gathered nearby.

"It was hard enough to say goodbye to my father," she said quietly. "And he was just one person. I can't imagine saying goodbye to eight different people."

Clay looked over to her, remembering in the back of his mind that he hadn't met Kimiko's mother when he'd gone to her place. And they'd been there for a few days while Kimiko got ready to leave! He was about to ask where Kimiko's mother was when something caught his eye; over by the group, the kids had finally started to back off, and Raimundo turned towards them. The Brazilian kid stopped short, though, when his younger sister Mai tugged on his shirt.

Raimundo turned back to his sis and knelt down. He was close enough so that the two other elementalists could hear him speak. "Yeah, Mai?" he asked quietly.

The young girl paused for a moment, looking bashfully at her brother from behind her stuffed animal bear, then held out her teddy bear that she'd been carrying around since Kimiko first saw her.

The boy stopped for a moment. "You're giving me Ninja Fred? But he's your good luck charm, Mai!" Raimundo said kindly, looking at his sister.

The girl blushed earnestly holding the toy out. "But I want _you _to have good luck!" she insisted quietly, her Brazilian accent making her voice sound almost unreal as she whispered the words.

Rai studied her for a moment, then accepted the present. He studied it for a moment, then reached out "Oh, Come here, you," he ordered, and grabbed Mai up in a hug. "I'll come back, I promise!"

"I know," whispered the girl, hugging him. Finally, she let go and retreated to her other siblings as Raimundo stood. Skye, who had watched the whole interaction from a distance as Clay, Kimiko, and Master Fung had, approached the boy.

"Are you ready to go?" Skye asked Rai quietly.

The boy looked down to the bear in his hands, then to his family. "As ready as I'll ever be," he informed his stepfather.

Skye laughed. "Well, then, good," he said with a chuckle. He clapped the boy's shoulder in his hand. "Just… make sure you don't forget about us when you get there, all right?"

"Forget you? Yeah right," Raimundo teased back.

"All right, then," Skye stood back. "Go and take on the world. Just… be careful, all right?"

Raimundo looked over to the three people waiting for him, then back to Skye. "I will," he assured. "I promise I'll be careful… dad." He added.

Skye stopped short, then smiled at his kid. "That's all I'm asking for."

-

* * *

-

Eventually, the four humans found themselves on a plane bound for China. They were all situated comfortably among the seats as the aircraft got ready to take off. Raimundo had never traveled before, so everything seemed new to him. Sure, he'd read books, magazines, and seen TV shows about other countries, but he'd never actually thought about going anywhere. Even the airport terminal was a change of pace for him. He didn't mind, since he was always open to new ideas, but the Brazilian kid had a feeling that the weirdness was just beginning.

At the moment, the boy was busy inspecting another oddity: his plane ticket. He examined the paper, holding it up to the light to better see what was written on it.

"It's odd!" He exclaimed, rubbing the name on the airplane ticket. "R-A-I-M-U-N-D-O P-E-D-R-O-S-A." he read, his face perplexed.

"You can read, congratulations." Kimiko answered flatly.

"Hey!" Rai shot back. "You've never changed names, so you have no room to talk. I've been Raimundo Sanchez my entire life, and… and it's just _odd!"_he exclaimed.

"Is it a bad 'odd'?" Kimiko asked, looking over Clay's body to him.

He paused for a moment, as the plane started up, lifting into the air. He didn't answer for so long that Kimiko nearly forgot that she'd asked him. Finally he turned to look at her. "No, I guess not." He said softly.

Master Fung smiled at him. "Raimundo, why don't you look out the window? I'm sure that you'd want to see this."

Rai looked around. "Window? You mean this thing?" he pointed to an oblong shape set beside him on the wall of the airplane. Master Fung nodded, and Rai hesitated, but pulled the flap up. What he saw made him gasp.

"NO _WAY!_" he exclaimed with glee, pressing his face to the plastic-glass that separated him from open air. "We're on top of the clouds! This is unreal! Even_ I_can't fly this high!" he paused, then coughed suspiciously. "Not that I _can_ fly or anything…"

"But we saw you do it earlier…" Clay said, slightly confused.

"You… did?"

"We did."

Rai blinked at them, then sat back. "Oh," he stated simply, smoothing a crease in his green cargo pants. He opened his mouth to say something, but the only thing that came out was "Oh," again.

"Something wrong, partner?" Clay asked.

Suddenly the boy sat up with a start. "I can totally explain," Rai started. "The flying thing was just—you know—a… a _thing_that happened, once, not ever again, so you don't have to pay any attention to it," he explained nervously.

"Well, shoot, I thought that was yer power," Clay said, scratching his head.

"Yeah, it was totally rad the way you saved your brother and everything," Kimiko added.

Rai's green eyes shifted sideways. "You don't think it's weird that I can levitate?"

"Fly." Corrected Master Fung, sitting beside him.

"Right. What did I say?"

Kimiko blinked at the boy, then sighed and sat back in her chair. "You know, you don't have to worry about faking it." she informed him coolly. "We all have powers, so if you don't judge, we won't."

Rai looked at her, his eyes penetrating her skin. He was trying to detect a lie, a false promise, _something_ from her. He picked up on nothing, though. And since he could almost always detect rejection, it either meant that this girl, Kimiko, was an extremely good liar, or that she wasn't a liar at all.

Sighing, he sat back in his chair as well, eyes returning to the clouds. "Amazing…" he mumbled after a bit of time had passed. His face may have been turned towards the clouds, but his eyes were looking beyond them.

"Just amazing."

-

* * *

-

They arrived in the night. The children were beginning to feel the odd effects of the jetlag, hoping that they'd have a chance to sleep it off later. They arrived in a relatively small town, where some of the buildings were more like huts than actual houses, and an outdoor market was almost completely closed for the night.

The group found a path out of the city, leading upwards to the mountains. Kimiko, having the sharpest eyes of the group, could just barely see the stone walls of a temple peeking out from behind the grey rocks.

It wasn't a very long walk to the temple. Once they got up into the mountains, they could see it wasn't too shabby a place at all. Blue tiles slept on the roofs, while little waterfalls trickled sleepily in miniature gardens that decorated the grounds. Fireflies began their nighttime dance, speckling the grounds with soft orbs of light that shone brighter than the paper torches situated at the entrances of the various buildings.

"Wow," Kimiko breathed, her voice soft.

Clay's piercing blue eyes blinked through his blonde hair to take in his surroundings as they walked. "It aint home, but it aint bad, neither," he said quietly to himself.

Raimundo rubbed the carefully laid tiles below him with his foot, taking all the sights in. He'd never actually been away from Brazil, so this was a complete culture shock to him. But, as Clay had said, it wasn't home, but he still liked it. Quietly, he studied his surroundings. The air was almost… peaceful here. For the first time in a long time, the wind was being silent, sleeping like the rest of the temple was. It was quiet, there were no rude voices from the wind nagging him, and…

Woah. Wait a second…

The boy turned his face upwards, straining his ears for any speck of conversation that the winds might've picked up. He felt a slight disconnection with the air, though, even though he still felt he belonged with it. The realization was a quick one, and he had to comment on it.

"Do you guys feel different, or is it just me?" he asked.

The other two stopped abruptly, and Raimundo (walking behind them,) nearly broke his nose on the back of their skulls. He stepped back, raising an eyebrow, but he didn't snap at them for stopping so quickly. Instead, he waited.

Clay looked down at his hands, then up to the sky. He paused, then looked at the ground. Nervous, he lifted a foot, then warily tapped the ground with it. When nothing happened, he tried harder, and the third time, he stomped his foot on the ground.

Not even a pebble moved. The realization made the cowboy's eyes kick up in surprise, and he knelt down to the earth to inspect it. What happened? Usually, even jogging across a dirt field was enough to make the earth crack under him. Was he actually in control now?

Kimiko and Raimundo watched as Clay did this, and then She took a deep breath. She turned her attention to a nearby lamp, pointing to it.

"Burn," she ordered.

As with Clay, her flame ignored her. The torch burned as it had before, not any more or less bright than when they'd arrived. She waved her arm rapidly, hoping that the fast motion might prick the flame's interest, but it just sat quietly, humming warmth and light to its surroundings.

And for some reason, the air of this place just couldn't let her get angry. She felt calm, at peace… even though she was a little uneasy at the lack of people, of activity, she also felt like everything was completely, totally right.

"This is really weird," she admitted, letting her arm fall to her side again. Clay and Raimundo nodded in agreement.

From the pathway, Master Fung had stopped and watched them, his eyes glittering knowingly. He waited for them to catch up, and when they did, he gave them a comforting smile.

"So do you like your new home?" he asked, leading them into a nearby building.

The three looked around, then simultaneously nodded.

The old man chuckled. It was going to be a good year.

-

* * *

-

"This is the main hall," the man informed the children, opening the door to them. They stepped inside, scattering to different places as they looked at the various objects mounted up on pedestals or tapestries on the walls. On the far side of the room, a simple window decorated the wall, and the floor had a mosaic design of two fish swimming around each other in a yin-yang pattern.

Kimiko turned just in time to see Dojo crawl out of the man's coat, and whisper something in his ear. After the old man nodded, the lizard like creature slid off his shoulder down to the floor, going out the door into the darkness again.

Master Fung smiled at her, and the two boys. "This is where we eat in the mornings, and occasionally have indoor studies when the weather outside is less than perfect," he informed them, stepping forward. "Your bags have arrived a few hours ago, and were put into your rooms. I will show them to you shortly, but first I must check up on another monk who resides here at the temple."

"You mean the Dragon of Water kid?" Rai asked.

Master Fung nodded. "Yes, that is who I am talking about," he agreed, turning away. "Excuse me while I go find him… please make yourselves at home, in the meantime." He bid, and left.

The three exchanged nervous glances. A few seconds passed, as no one said anything. Kimiko tugged at a strand of her blonde-dyed hair uneasily. Raimundo shifted on his feet, and Clay stuffed his hands into his pockets. Now that the old man was gone, it seemed sort of uncomfortable. Kimiko was the first to break the silence.

"So we live here now." She stated.

"I guess." Clay replied.

"Yeah, but I don't see what the point is. I mean, we're supposed to be fighting 'evil'?" Raimundo sighed, rolling his eyes. "That makes no sense whatsoever."

"It sorta does, when ya think a'bout it…" Clay said quietly.

Silence.

"Why did we come here, anyway?" Raimundo muttered.

"To control our powers, duh." Kimiko replied in a matter-of-fact voice.

"No, I mean, why did… oh, never mind." The Brazilian sighed in annoyance.

Clay blinked slowly. After a moment, he spoke up. "It's true, you know. We all came here because we wanted to have our powers settle. Because…" he paused. "Because we wanted to live relatively normal lives."

"We're going to live relatively normal lives by going to monk school halfway around the world with two—sorry, three—other elementals, fighting evil and gathering magic items?" Raimundo scoffed.

"No…" Clay said slowly. "No… we're going to live relatively normal lives by living here and not being judged because of our unique abilities."

Rai froze, and Clay looked at him sideways. "That IS what you wanted, right?" he asked.

"Well, I…" Raimundo began, but fell silent.

"That's… I guess that's what I want, too." Kimiko put in.

Raimundo found himself nodding. "I guess you're right…" he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I'd like to be able to walk somewhere without people pointing at me in fear… I'd like to be somebody's equal… I'd like… I'd like a place to call… home."

"Home…" Kimiko hummed lightly, an odd look in her eyes.

"This is our home now." Clay nodded, putting his hand on the wall.

There was another silence, but it was more comfortable than the last one. The gentle sound of rain began outside, water falling from the clouds to cleanse the dark earth. It was a very peaceful noise. Finally Rai plopped his backpack on the ground and went over to look out the window, viewing the dark terrain with interest. "I could get used to calling this place home." He stated.

"You took the words right outta my mouth, partner." Clay agreed.

"No kidding. I think I'm going to like it here, with you two." Kimiko nodded. "Even if there's no internet access. Two guys might be enough of a distraction from that fact."

"Three." Rai reminded her.

"By the way," Clay glanced around. "Where's that 'Dragon of the Water' character anyhow?"

As if on cue, Master Fung's voice came through the air to their ears. "Speaking of surprises Omi," the voice called. "There's some people I want you to meet…."

-

* * *

-

yes, I know that's not quite what he says, but I needed an ending!

Btw, CONGRADULATIONS! You and I have reached the end of the story! Hip hip, hooray!

**Story Stats:**

**Dates: 1-16-07 to 5-24-08  
****Number of Chapters: 10  
****Number of Pages: 94 in WORD  
****Number of Words: 50,908 (with Author's notes)  
****Number of Reviews (currently): 50**

**Reviewer Dedication: **

**I'd like to give a Thank You to:  
**mel, SharadaGirl, Terra Young, windbabe4eva93, EAPshadows, Numbuh 734, Shadow Saber Knight, Rena 26, De-Irish-Waffle, Kloogy, desdemona, XiaolinFireGirl, …., Loki DeZia, lizzyguurl, sugarmakesmeangry, Anatonia Barcelona, Cursed Destiny, lapse in judgement (aka smallvilleshowdown), Koji Shindou, Luiz4200, xxFireWarriorxx, nishikaze and Evil Midgit Turtle and I don't have an account  
**for all reviewing my story! **

**Special thanks to:  
**Loki DeZia, lizzyguurl, sugarmakesmeangry, Anatonia Barcelona, Cursed Destiny, lapse in judgement (aka smallvilleshowdown), Koji Shindou, Luiz4200, xxFireWarriorxx, nishikaze and Evil Midgit Turtle  
**For all reviewing my story multiple times! **

**And finally, thanks to  
**Loki DeZia, Lapse In Judgement, Shadow Sabre Knight, nishikaze, …., mel, and Evil Midgit Turtle  
**For their insightful reviews, in which I learned something about my writing or where I learned about an error in my story that needed to be fixed … that's how a review is supposed to be. Thank you! **

Anyway, beyond that, this story is finis. :waves: thank you for reading the story to the end! I intend to make another XS story, someday, after I finish what I've got out now. Three stories to finish… yikes. Keep your eyes peeled just in case I throw one out there. So, this was an overall fun experience… and I finished a story! Thanks to those who read, reviewed, faved, or subscribed to a story alert! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have!

Adios!


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